


Damn Eyes

by musicalinny



Category: Black Clover - Tabata Yuki (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Anime/Manga Fusion, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fights, Protective Siblings, Realization, Zora Mask
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-01
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 15:34:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 25,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26231263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musicalinny/pseuds/musicalinny
Summary: The first time their eyes met he doesn't notice that he actually gave a damn.
Relationships: Zora Ideale/Nebra Silva
Comments: 44
Kudos: 72





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this because I suddenly snapped awake after dreaming about the two. Feh.
> 
> P.S. I also think this crack ship is adorable.

The first time their eyes met, he doesn't notice that he actually gave a damn.

The words 'we're about to die' were already on Nebra's mind when the spell disappeared, leaving both he and Solid shellshocked.

Noelle's tense face relaxes and she beams, relieved. "Zora!"

The man mentioned jumps right in the middle of the rundown remnants of a damn castle tower, carrying on one arm a servant that he saved earlier.

"Oi, little healer." Zora drops the Silva household healer on the rugged floor and he points at the horrid sight in front of them.

"Your shitty bubble bath madam is dying over there. Maybe wanna go prolong her life or something?"

The healer turns his eyes and is immediately mortified over the sight of one of his masters, the strong Lady Nebra in a life-threatening situation with an arrow stabbed at her stomach. Her royal blood seeps out of her wound, staining the floor and linen carpet a crimson red.

"L-Lady Nebra!" He shouts and scrambles to get closer and perform his healing. Zora, arms on his hips, scans what was left of the Silva's castle quarters with leering eyes.

After this elf squabble, all them royals would be bossing common and peasant people alike into rebuilding all these destroyed facilities, even those that aren't even needed for anything other than their own satisfaction and just the thought of it makes him click his tongue in annoyance.

But with this scale of damage, Magic Knights like him are gonna be worked to the bone too.

Curse those darn elves who can't just stay at their graves.

His narrowed blue eyes catch sight of Noelle's brother, Solid, hanging on to his gravely injured sister while trembling. The arrogant, badmouthing royal was reduced to a helpless mess, and Zora lets himself chuckle on purpose as he walks towards them, gaze mocking.

"Huh? What is this?" He kicks away a piece of rubble to startle Solid on purpose, and the royal's annoyed expression turns into one of reproach and fear when they make eye contact.

The Black Bull sits on level with them, and releases all the sharp words he'd been wanting to say ever since he saw them.

"Aren't you ashamed? Look, your little sister whom you treated like shit so much is fighting so strongly to protect your worthless lives."

Solid grits his teeth and looks at Noelle dancing around the battlefield, and back down.

"Aren't you royals supposed to be stronger than us commoners, huh? Where's the powerful magic and huge mana you always boast about now that it's needed the most? What, all bark and no bite?"

The Silva man looks like he wanted to say something, but he bites his tongue to stop himself. Caught between the tension, the healer is sweating bullets while working to heal one of her masters. Nebra was still weakening, and he could feel her mana drain in an attempt to ease her pain.

Zora clicks his tongue. "Weak royals."

As Nebra's bleary, weak eyes open and met his, he all but suddenly remembers again the vow he made after his father's funeral to never save a shitty royal, even those close to brushing off the map with a well-deserved death.

——————————————————

The second time their eyes met, she doesn't know that he gave a damn.

Half of the Silver Eagles base was blown to smithereens, and Nebra could only clench her fists at the sight of her shattered earring collection.

Whoever did this she will wrap in a cocoon with her mist threads and then throw into a cage of magical beasts as a yummy snack offering.

Running towards the safe grounds outside, her eyes scan the people, injured and not, there, some panicking and being treated.

She doesn't know when she even started caring about these inferior members but counts them all in her mind anyway, 29, 30, 31.

The Silver Eagles were on a temporary break that time since the unexpected attack of the one of the Spade Kingdom bastard Zeno's goons less than a week ago. That foul play had cost the squad dearly, severely injuring many members and weakening their stronghold.

38, 39, 40.

For days, her captain brother had been on countless, tense meetings. She had found out later that it was because two captains were kidnapped, which was supposed to be confidential information, but her secret—no one knows it but her— gossip genes have no bounds known.

44, 45, 46.

Nebra is almost finished in counting all 48, excluding Nozel, members of the squad. Her heart beat spikes up at the sight of one last member and it was not who she wanted to make sure was also safe. She spins around, ready to release a frantic order for them to look where the hell could Solid be at a time like this-

And then she sees him, all curled up behind the fountain, sulking for whatever collection out of the hundred that he had that must've broke because of the explosion, she doesn't want to know.

Nozel then appears, and he is overly stressed as he tells them that Noelle, their not-weak-anymore little sister was seen facing off against Vanica, a maniacal woman possessed by a powerful curse demon.

Nebra feels a heavy chill creep up her spine, and it only amplifies itself as images of Noelle, screaming and drenched with her own blood ravaged her mind. She hasn't felt this cold ever since their mother died and she almost wants to shake her own big brother to order him to make the mercury faster.

_Can't we go any faster?_

"Going faster will drain my mana rapidly, Nebra." Nozel reprimands her, and she is sent out of her panic as she mumbles a quick apology for accidentally thinking out loud.

How utterly embarrassing.

As soon as they arrive at the Black Bulls base, the three royal Silvas stomp their way towards the doors only to be welcomed by a heap of destroyed wood, or what was left of it.

_What the hell happened here?_

A scream catches their ears, and they run towards its source.

Noelle had defeated Vanica.

Noelle had defeated the demon.

Her eyes catch the bruises and blood caking her sister's white skin. The youngest Silva stands, victorious and beautiful like their mother.

"Noelle!" Nozel and Solid say at the same time their little sister weakens and falls, but is gracefully caught by a gust of wind before her back even hit the ground. The two brothers look at each other and nod before running towards their injured little victor.

Shuffle of feet were heard nearby, and all Nebra could think of is how happy she was that Noelle was alive and how sorry she was for all she ever did. Her shoulders sag in relaxation and as soon as all the fear flew out of her body her senses dulled, purple eyes catching a tiny shade of blue before they shut, making her see or feel nothing but blank.

Clicking his tongue, Zora looks at the passed out Silva he had coincidentally caught while he and the other Bulls were rushing towards their young injured squadmates.

This woman was also the one he saved back then, he noted a while ago when he saw her while running. He didn't know why his body reflexively acted to catch her, or help her for that matter because she's a dang royal and royals, except for the ones in the Bulls and Mimosa, are a big no-no on his list.

Resigning to the fact that he was left with no choice, he gruffly picks up the royal and walks toward her unaware siblings.

"Yo, braided clod and bangs for brains!" He calls, and he laughs as the two Silva men turn to him, partially taking in their new, lovely nicknames with sour expressions.

He stretches out his arms, holding out Nebra's small, limp body to them. "Here's your other sister."

The two look at him with weird expressions, like he just planted stink bugs on every bed in the Clover Kingdom.

A good idea, but maybe later when the kingdom's back in tip top shape.

Solid's mana flared as Nozel hurriedly picks up Noelle and Nebra with his mercury. Both stood there for a minute, boring holes in the redhead's psyche with glares resembling enhanced daggers.

Zora rolls his eyes and inwardly sighs. _I am not paid enough for this_ _shit_ _._

——————————————————

The third time their eyes met, both didn't give a damn.

"I'm fine Big Sis Nebra." Noelle reassures her, giving a thumbs up.

"You sure you're already okay?" Nebra asks, handing her an orange. Her sister nods and smiles, accepting the food. "I mean, this is all that I could do for you."

"I'm fine now, you don't have to exhaust yourself in visiting me everyday. You still have your missions to take care of. And most importantly, I'm gonna get discharged later, so I'm back in shape!" Noelle replies.

Nebra blinks. "Discharged? Huh. Okay, then. Where are you staying? You can come home if you'd like."

Noelle awkwardly smiles and waves a hand in mild dismissal. It was too soon to step in the Silva mansion again.

"Nope, it's okay. Asta already cleaned my room back at the base and he told me they sent someone to pick me up. He or she should be here right-"

A knock echoes from outside.

"-now, I guess." She shrugs her shoulders. "Come in!"

The door opens, and now walking towards them was a cross-armed, apathetic Zora Ideale. He had this usual bored look on his face and on his hand he carried a broom.

"Yo, little Noelle." He greets and pats her head. Noelle turns a little flustered, but smiles and greets him back anyway.

"Hey, Zora. You were the one they sent to pick me up?" She asks, moving her legs off the bed slowly while Nebra assisted her. The man yawns and scratches the back of his head.

"For some reason, that little runt interrupted my sleep earlier. Guess it was for this." He says flatly, eyes scanning Noelle's overall condition before it landed into a pair of purple staring at him suspiciously.

Nebra bites her lower lip, deep in thought. This man who was talking to Noelle— has she met him before?

She feels like she did, and there's a faint sense of familiarity floating between them but she doesn't speak her mind, especially to a peasant-looking man with weird clothes.

She briefly wonders what her designers would think if they ever saw this blasphemy.

Noticing the staring contest the two were in, Noelle clears her throat. "Well, I guess you haven't really met properly before. Zora, this is my sister Nebra Silva. She's a Silver Eagle."

Zora's eyes loom shortly on Nebra as she gives him a stiff nod. He snorts and holds out his hand.

"Zora Ideale. Nice to properly meet you."

The Silva woman contemplates whether or not she should shake his hand. But then she remembers that she is doing some self-changing measures. Right. She's gonna change the hell out of her old, snotty self for Noelle and one of the first steps towards that change was to know what kind of people Noelle's weird yet... tolerable squad has.

She takes out her hand, and their palms almost, _almost_ touch until a water barrier appeared between them. Looking up, Nebra sees Noelle glaring at her teammate.

"Zora, hands out. Now." She threatens him, hitting her palm lightly with her wand as if she was a prison warden. The man scoffs but obliges anyway.

Her little sister does a thorough inspection on his rough hands and Nebra wonders if his hand had some kind of nerve poison that would've killed her instantly, had Noelle not stopped their almost handshake. Noelle hums in approval. "Hmm. No rainbow stink bugs."

This time, Zora laughs.

"Really? I won't even think of shaking her oh-so-royal hand with those. I've no interest to be turned into a mushy human cocoon."

Nebra is still confused but instantly remembers why they were there in the first place. "Noelle, shouldn't we get going?" She asks. Noelle then perks up and stands.

"Right! Everyone's waiting for us at the base, right?"

"Yeah, guess so." He answers lazily, rolling is eyes. "Knowing them, they probably have a barbecue set up now."

"The more reason to get going then!" She says, suddenly chipper and she tugs at her older sister's robe. "Big Sis Nebra! You should come with us!"

"Eh?" Nebra exclaims, completely flabbergasted. "But I-"

_Come on,_ _Nebra_ _! This is also a chance to meet your little sister's squad and evaluate them! Don't miss this!_

She swallows down her reasons. "Alright."

Zora raises an eyebrow. That pretentious royal woman was willing to come with them to a rundown base of the kingdom's worst squad?

For a second, he considers slapping himself to check if he was asleep or not.

Zora gets on his broom. Nebra makes a magic mist cloud for her and Noelle to ride in and then they whizz through the air, towards the Black Bulls base.

Landing in front of the base, hyper Noelle tugs at her robe and they walk around the big, weird misshapen base. Nebra's eyes look at where her sister stayed for the past year, and it was a complete contrast with the pristine Silver Eagles base.

How the hell do those rooms even balance each other?

Noise and clatters were heard from behind the structure, and the scent of roasted meat wafted in the air. Before they could even see where the Black Bulls were, a big puff of cotton blocks their way.

"Checkpoint! Checkpoint!" A short, plump girl shouts, waving a meatless bone. Nebra leans down and whispers to her sister.

"Is she drunk?"

Noelle shakes her head. "I don't know."

"Who is it?" A familiar, tipsy voice calls from the other side. The Silva woman wonders _where and when the heck did I first hear that voice again?_

"The super mage Zora Ideale and two Silvas." The man accompanying them says, and there is a beat of silence until the woman on the other side hiccups.

"Silva? Is it braided grandpa?" She asks, tone laced with mild irritation and something Nebra can't quite comprehend. Noelle giggles, and it suddenly dawns on her who braided grandpa was.

Big Brother Nozel?

She bites back a laugh. She doesn't know why it was so funny even though her respectable big brother was being poked fun of. Maybe because Noelle was laughing too? Man, that braid is really a big trend in the whole kingdom.

She couldn't wait to laugh about it with Solid later.

"Hmm..." Zora looks at them briefly, scratching the back of his head. "The other one's braided, but a woman so braided grandma, I guess?"

Nebra's lips tug downward. "How rude."

"Feh."

——————————————————

The fourth time their eyes met, damn it all.

"You absolute _idiot_!" Nebra hisses as they run towards the woods, her mist covering their tracks. The man beside her scoffs and says nothing else.

Nebra, a day ago, was sent by her captain on an espionage mission to look for the hideout of bandits at a village named Poe in the Forsaken Realm.

"Me? Go to the peasant lands? I don't want to, can you just send someone else?"

"Your mist magic will prove very effective in hiding mana traces and sneaking. You just need to change your appearance."

"But-"

"I've already prepared a set of... clothes for you to wear. Now go."

Begrudgingly, Nebra had accepted the mission.

She just didn't expect to run into Zora Ideale.

The man wasn't wearing a mask, and if it wasn't for the fact that he recognized her as "bubble bath madam" she would've walked past him completely.

What does bubble bath madam even mean? Her magic affinity was mist, for Silvamillion's sake.

She takes into notice that his fashion sense was still horrible, but hers right now wasn't any better.

"Zora?" Her head snaps up. She is met again by that familiar shade of cobalt blue, leering at her as usual.

"What's a royal like you doing at the boonies? Aren't you disgusted at places like this?" He said, eyes raking the covering of her head, the different hairstyle, the no makeup look and as his eyes go downward he stills like he's petrified.

She doesn't like the reaction. A second later and when he still doesn't speak, she starts to think that he's charmed by her beauty until he snorts, the unpleasant sound reminding her of a coughing pig.

"Pfft hahaha! What's with the cheap fashion sense? You in a roleplay as a maid or something?" He said, doubled over in laughter and Nebra thanks the gods that not many people were here. She is embarrassed, flushed and angry at Zora for laughing at something she didn't want to do in the first place, and at herself for not recognizing him immediately enough to hide.

Irritatingly enough, he decides to tag along after he absolutely put her in no good mood. Heck, the idiot even had the gall to pick a fight with one of the "farmers" in a smelly rundown bar, resulting in an explosion of wind from their magic clashing that blew the cloth over her head completely off.

True enough, her cover is blown because of stupid Zora and she doesn't get to recover herself in time as he pulls her out of there, mad bandits chasing them screeching 'A Silva?! Magic Knights! Get them!' in bloody murder.

Good news is, she found the hideout of the bandits. Bad news is, she's been found out and she is already dreading the earful she'll be getting for this mess.

And that is how Nebra found herself in filthy, tattered peasant clothes, running with Zora towards the woods to escape a mob of angry magic bandits.

She is tired, panting from simultaneously using her magic and running. She plops down ungracefully on the ground and looks up at her unwanted companion who was leaning against a tree, arms crossed and face in an annoyingly smug expression like the whole 'being chased by bloodthirsty bandits' situation wasn't his own bloody fault.

"This was supposed to be a _stealth_ mission." She grits, steely voice loud enough for only Zora to hear. She is currently feeling extreme irritation and trying her best to refrain herself from whipping him with a mist thread.

Zora just rolls his eyes, every action from him right now screaming 'whatever I don't care'.

_Calm down, Nebra. He's Noelle's friend, don't kill him. Calm dow-_

"I found them! They're 18 metres away to the west!" She hears a shout, and panic rushes to her veins as she gets up and grabs his arm to start another run.

"Blast this! They have a sensory mage? I'm running out of mana." She fumbles, still pulling the dumb load of a man who wouldn't even run fast by himself, let alone drag his steps to get away from death.

Nebra faces him, exhausted and irritated. "Run, you fool!"

He obliges, lifting his weight a bit to run faster with that oh-so-annoying grin on his face that she is left with the great idea of chopping off from him an arm or two after this was all over.

There are many fluctuations in her mist now, and the number of enemies chasing them were at least 30, each with enough mana to put up a fight against them, two exhausted Magic Knights running low on mana from all that running away. Even though a royal, a very powerful one if she does say so herself, Nebra doubts that she could defeat them all alone.

Terrible, horrible news.

She doesn't see it, she is too busy running and casting that she trips on a thick root on the ground causing her to stumble, letting go of Zora in the process.

"Argh!" She groans, looking at her wounded knee that scraped on a stone. The other kneels beside her, showing what she could decipher as a bit of concern.

"That's a big wound. I think that's gotta hurt." Zora says, pointing at the gash where blood dripped to the ground.

Nebra fumes, anger limiters thrown somewhere down the river. "You think?!"

"They're over there!" The familiar enemy voice shouts and she once again panics. Her eyes lock with Zora's and she is consumed by dread of him dying because of her mission.

Even though the mission failing was entirely this peasant's fault. He was still Noelle's cherished friend.

"Mist Magic: Mist Clones!" She musters up a huge amount of mana to cast it, giving each clone power to shoot water bullets to decrease the enemy forces. She faces him, and sees that he is confused.

"I thought you were running out of mana?" He asks, eyebrow raised.

She is weakening but she doesn't show it as she grabs his shoulder, grip looser than usual. "Here's the deal, Zora. I will distract them, so you hurry towards the Silver Eagles base, tell them of the hideout's location and have them arrest the bandits."

Zora's eyes widen a fraction- there is a hidden implication, a possibility to what she was saying and he feels scared yet amused that a royal such as her would even think of something like that. "What, and come back to you here when you could be already dead? No. Bad plan, give me plan B."

"There's... no... time!" She groans, and collapses to her knees. She flicks her hand at him as if shooing him away. "Just go already! The Black Bulls and Noelle will never forgive me if I let you die because of my mission."

Nebra doesn't know what the hell she's saying, why she was at the moment so determined to prioritize a life that was not her own, but she knows that the feeling of fulfillment in saving someone important to her sibling was giving her guts to push forward, no matter how stupidly suicidal it sounds.

She was going to be a changed woman for Noelle, and maybe doing this to add herself a point in her sister's good side wouldn't be such a bad idea.

Zora laughs, not because of something he saw funny but because everything he heard she said sounded funny. No, hilarious.

For the entirety of his life he resented royals and nobles in Magic Knights alike, seeing them only as overconfident bastards who do nothing but boast of their sinful mana and wave their power for fashion.

And then appeared before him now a Magic Knight, a Silva at that, willing to throw away her life for some cynical peasant like him.

"Why the hell are you laughing, you gremlin?! I'm trying to help you!" She hisses and it is followed by a pained groan as her Mist Clones started to decrease.

Zora squats to her level and harshly pulls at her chin to face him, not caring about their differences in status and she is still, gaping at him with varying levels of shock, anger and embarrassment, eyes glaring _what-the-fuck-are-you-doing-I'm-a-royal._

"So you think the whole kingdom's gonna forgive me if a Silva dies? Hah, nice mentality. Thumbs up for most idiotic plan of the century." He coos, sarcasm dripping in his voice like venom.

"Then what do you suggest we do?!" She says, before tumbling over with her nose bleeding because she is almost out of mana but is trying to pull more mana from nowhere. Her body couldn't handle the strain and once again she is embraced by cold black, cursing herself for not being stronger and for the fate that both of them are gonna die.

Zora catches her, and he cackles while looking at her passed out frame.

"You thought I was doing nothing earlier?"

The familiar clang of his trap is heard, and his grin widens devilishly.

Several pitfalls activated, and he could hear the surprised screams and confusion among the enemies as they fell one by one in the unexpected onslaught of traps.

For fun, he made the pitfalls thrice as big and four times deep.

Leaning Nebra against a trunk, he approaches one of the pitfalls and looks down on the tangle of flailing limbs. He puts a hand beside his mouth and laughs. "Good luck getting out of that, suckers!"

The mist starts to dissipate and he calmly walks back to where the slumbering royal was. She needed help, he thought as he gets the communication device from her rag dress pocket carefully, as to not wake her up and face whatever wrath she might have if she got the wrong idea.

He opens it, and Nozel's stoic face appears.

He greets him. "Yo, braided clod! Long time no see."

Nozel blinks in surprise. "You? Why do you have Nebra's comm device?"

"About that..." the redhead scratches the back of his head and points the device at the tree, letting Nozel see the predicament his sister was in. "Her mission of sorts went downhill for a sec. She's passed out."

The Silver Eagles captain feels a twinge of pity at the sight of his sister but his face remains in its stoic facade. "I will send a group to pick you up by Poe's border."

"Feh. You're not gonna praise the hell out of me for saving your sister?"

Nozel sighs. "... thank you."

His hologram disappears as soon as he said that.

Nebra stirs, and when she regains a bit of her senses, she realizes that she is floating.

She tries to blink back the bright light that stings her half-open eyes. "Am I dead?"

_"No, you idiot."_

Her eyebrows crease. Do angels even curse?

_"They don't. And you're not dead yet, bubble bath."_ A voice says, and Nebra snaps awake because the only person who had the gall to call her that was not an angel.

Very far from it.

She inhales sharply, eyes regaining proper vision of the trees in the forest they were in. She looks up, and she is met by the same blue eyes.

Zora grins. "You're awake."

Nebra then realizes that he is carrying her and all blood rushes to her face. "W-Why are you holding me?! I'm royalty!"

"Oh I'm sorry, your _Highnesssss_." He drawls, playfulness evident in his voice. "Do you want me to put you down?"

She almost agrees, deciding that it was the best way for her to save face when she sees clouds. Looking at the side, she sees the roofs of the houses and shrieks.

"N-No! Don't!" Shouting in panic, she doesn't notice his surprised reaction when she wrapped both of her arms around his chest.

He coughs. "Woah, easy there. We're gonna fall to our deaths if you keep squirming."

At the warning she stops, hands loosening but still wrapped around him while she faces his chest. "I thought we were about to die earlier."

Zora snorts, that weird sound invading her ears again. "Psh. You think I'd let myself die because of some petty bandits? I set off a few traps."

At this information Nebra doesn't even get angry, nor does she notice that he did something to help her earlier because she is too numb, too tired and too weak to argue. Absentmindedly and without a care to the world, she snuggles her head against his bare chest comfortably and closes her eyes.

Zora stiffens and before he could point out _'what the hell are you doing I'm a peasant'_ she speaks.

"Wake me up when we're home." She orders and dozes off in his arms, leaving him with a blank head and a confused heart.

He then takes in the way her face had that unexpected softness when she sleeps. The way she said "we're home" felt so oddly domestic and with a tone Zora never expected he would hear from this sharp-tongued woman made his insides churn. The soft snores she would emit reverberated in his chest and he is confused on how she easily trusted him to help her, not giving a thought to the possibility that he might be thinking of dropping her.

Zora shakes his head, laughing as his blue eyes scan her face, realizing at once that he is royally fucked.

"Darn royal."

He takes a little detour to 'rest' before going to Poe's borders.


	2. Falling? Zora? How's that possible?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I've had too many oneshots now, I added the sequel as chapter two.
> 
> Do I continue this? Depends on my mood. ¦>
> 
> Warning: maybe a bit (or really, sorry) OOC. Why's that? Read my bio. 
> 
> Adios!

"She's alright now. Although, she might need to take a week of rest because of her reckless use of mana. If she continued doing what she did, she would've been put in grave condition." Owen says, giving Nozel a stern look. It was always a bit of a shock to the healer to see royals come at his clinic, mainly because they were good at defending themselves, having a huge amount of mana to do so.

Nebra's case, however, was a bit different from the others.

This was the second time she was brought here in critical condition.

"May I ask, why did your sister use such a dangerous amount of mana and didn't think of the strain it'd put on her?" The healer inquires, and the Silver Eagles Captain's eyes narrowed into slits. A streak of his mercury hurriedly latches on a black robe at the other side of the open door, and Zora just snorts when he is pulled inside, dangling like a bell.

He waves at Owen. "Yo, Doc!"

"Xerx Lugner?" Owen says, blinking in surprise. "I haven't seen you since the Royal Knights exam."

'Xerx' scoffs, crossing his arms. "I ain't that asshole Xerx."

"O-Oh. Pardon me. But back then, you...?"

"This peasant entered the exam under a false name. Zora Ideale, you will answer my every question clearly. Understood?" Nozel bellows at him, authority oozing from his voice.

The doctor becomes conflicted, face scrunching in familiarity. "Ideale? Hmm..."

Once again, Zora resists the urge to roll his eyes and answers in fake politeness. "Yes, braided grandpa!"

Nozel's eyebrow twitches at the silly nickname, an image of an annoying pink-haired woman flashing involuntarily on his mind. He sets Zora down, recomposing himself.

He then looks at the standoffish Black Bull and crosses his arms, gaze fierce and saying _don't-mess-with-me-weakling._

"What happened at Poe that had Nebra straining herself?"

The redhead looks at the side, thinking of a way to answer without getting stabbed.

Too late, because Nozel's glare was already stabbing holes in his head, and he had no choice but to answer in his usual, sneering fashion.

"Bubble bath tried to save me." He speaks, bored.

Nozel blinks. "Repeat that again?"

"I said, bubble bath over there tried to save me."

If the air around them wasn't serious, he would've cackled at his surprised expression. "What's with that face? Your braid looks like it's about to fall off."

Nozel doesn't speak, now glaring at him. Zora smugly grins.

"Want me to cut yer braid for you?"

"Shut up, peasant."

—

"What?! But I'm training!" Magna muses, unrelenting. Noelle huffs and crosses her arms, leveling her eyes with his.

"But I'm royalty!"

Zora walks outside, looking for his designated tree to nap but overhears the argument two familiar voices had by the door. He peeks from the back, and Magna had this constipated expression on his face while trying to reason with the royal.

 _Noelle never changes,_ Zora thought.

The fire mage frowns, eyebrows knitted together. "Why ask me?! You can ask Luck, Vanessa or Shrimpsta. Oi wait- you can fly on your own broom now, right?!"

"I'm carrying something and I don't want it to spill. Also, Vanessa is with a hangover, Luck is nowhere to be found, and Stupidsta is-" Noelle pouts, a red streak decorating her cheeks, -"training."

Luckily, Magna didn't seem to notice her blush. "So Stupidsta can't be bothered but I can?!"

"It's afternoon, it's hot so what's with all the ruckus?" Zora finally decides to step out, realizing that if these two drag on the argument for who knows how long, he isn't gonna get an ounce of sleep. "Too loud, I can't sleep."

Magna suddenly perks up at the intrusion. "Oh, Zora! He can take you there!"

He blinks. "Excuse me, what-"

"Great!" Noelle but all exclaims, tugging Zora's robe. He taps her head, and she stops.

"What's with the rush? And where are you even going?"

"The castle hospital and the soup's getting cold."

"Listen here, I'm going to sleep, so you can just-" the words _buzz off_ dies on his lips.

Hospital?

"Zora?" She asks, snapping her fingers in front of him, breaking him from his daze. His blue eyes blink, and he is back at reality with the Silva waiting for his answer.

And she isn't gonna take a no, he thought to himself, glaring at the spot where Magna was. Sighing, he grabs his broom and Noelle sat, the soup she was carrying now inside a miniature Sea Dragon's Cradle. They take off.

"So, why are you going to the hospital?" He asks, trying to make small talk. Noelle raises an eyebrow at the notion, but answers anyway.

"My sister's there. Again. She likes to overwork herself."

_Overwork, huh._

Zora then figures out that Nozel had lied, trying to cover up the fact that his other sister had stooped so low as to lay her life to save a commoner.

Feh. Typical royal and their typical pride.

"Hn. By the way, sick spell." He points out, and Noelle huffs proudly.

"Oh, right. You weren't around when I acquired this. It was back when we went to the Underwater Temple." She tells him, and his eyes widen a fraction.

"Underwater Temple, huh? I thought it was just a myth. And that other sick spell you used back at the entrance exam?" He says, snorting as he remembers how the arrogant royal Solid was taken out humiliatingly by his own sister.

The said sister smiles. "Sea Dragon's Roar. I acquired it at the temple too while battling Vetto."

"Oh," he gapes, suddenly remembering something, "Vanessa told me about that. So you were the one who chomped off his whole arm."

He grins, proud at his subordinate. For a royal of the said "worst" family, she's a hardworker. "That's pretty hardcore."

Not really used to an onslaught of compliments, Noelle faintly blushes. "T-That's... nothing."

"Oh." He says again when he remembers something, and Noelle looks at him expectantly. Zora frowns.

"Why didn't you just use your water armor to fly?"

Noelle blinks in surprise.

"I didn't think of that."

They arrive at the castle, and Zora silently walks with Noelle towards a hospital room. He looks at the surroundings that he just saw yesterday, and wondered why did he even agree when she said the word _hospital_.

"Are you gonna come in too?" Noelle asks, fist aimed to knock at the door of the room where her sister was. He blinks in contemplation.

"No. I'll just stay here."

"Okay then. I'll just take a minute." She enters, and Zora hears a voice saying 'Noelle' before the door clicks shut. He leans on the wall beside the door, waiting.

He then glances at the doorknob, waiting to be turned, like it was staring right at him with piercing eyes, taunting him to enter the room.

Of the royal princess who only ended up there because of him in the first place.

His conscience is making itself known again, poking in his gut and flashing in his mind the weakening face of bubble bath as she struggled, ordering him to escape. He gritted his teeth in apprehension.

_So what? She's a royal, she's supposed to protect us weak commoners. Stop pitying her._

The feel of her face nuzzled against his chest and her trust in him wholeheartedly as she fell asleep was vivid in his memory.

He shakes his head vigorously.

_Stop thinking about that, that was nothing. No way in hell would she do that sober. Maybe she was just so tired to even care. Yeah, that's it._

He sighs, running a hand through his messy red hair. He'd punished arrogant and pretentious people, royals and nobles alike in the Magic Knights and he felt no pity at them whatsoever.

But with her, Nebra, it was different.

In a way, she was hurt not by him, but because of him.

Maybe he should thank her?

But she's an arrogant royal. She used to bully little Noelle. She's one of the evil people that he has hated ever since his father died.

But she did save him.

"Maybe I should thank her..." Zora mutters under his breath, brain already considering the idea until he groans in disbelief.

"When did I become such a sap?"

"Such a what?"

His shoulders shoot up at the voice. Noelle blinks at him, the container earlier now left inside. She raises an eyebrow at Zora. "Are you alright?"

He clears his throat, grabbing his broom hurriedly. "I-I'm fine. Also, you can go ahead. I have... stuff to do."

She tilts her head in curiosity, wondering about his behavior when he was just dreading to go to sleep earlier. She doesn't pry.

"Okay... are you gonna take long?" She asks him, casting her Valkyrie Dress.

He shrugs. "Probably."

"Then you're stuck with leftovers. See ya!" With that, she flies away in a zip.

He snorts, looking at her until she was just a faraway dot. He turns, making his way again inside the cas-

"Zora Ideale?" His head turns at the direction where the voice came from, and he sees Owen approaching him.

The doctor smiles. "Nice to see you again."

"Uhh... yeah, you too."

"So," Owen quips, putting a hand on his hip, "who did you visit? Nebra Silva, perhaps?"

Zora is thrown off guard by the notion as he took a step back, making Owen laugh. "No. I mean, I didn't visit her yet."

"Yet?"

"Uhh, you already know what that means."

"Right, right." Owen says, turning to look at the setting sun. He glances at his side and sees the silhouette of a smiling redhaired man beside him, wearing a purple robe.

"You know, your father, Zara saved my life once." He starts up an interesting story, and it caught Zora's attention as he visibly jerked up.

The doctor smiles knowingly, _he's listening._ "It was a time of war. I was sent to the battlefield as a healer, and I didn't know that a Diamond enemy was getting ready to cut my head off with his steel..."

_"Look out!" A Magic Knight screams at him, and Owen turns to see the silver coming straight for his neck-_

_"Ash Trap Magic: Return!"_

_The metal suddenly disappears as soon as it was about to hit him, and it reappears, enhanced and went straight for the caster. Owen is_ _stupefied_ _with what he saw and he jolts back to reality when somebody taps his shoulder._

_The first peasant Magic Knight, Zara_ _Ideale_ _offers his hand to help him stand. A kind grin was on his face. "You okay there?"_

"I was happy that he survived that war. But how unfortunate to have his own comrades turn at him." Owen finishes speaking, a gloomy aura around him as he recalled the day that Zara was declared dead.

Zora clenches his fists, the rage though to be forgotten that he suppressed years ago bubbling again on his chest. "That's why I punish Magic Knights-"

"-royal or noble alike, right?" The doctor finishes what he was about to say, and Zora is surprised so he speaks again. "I've heard of the rumors regarding the Super Masked Mage. The commoners you saved really like you."

Zora pouts to this newfound information, definitely _not_ flustered. "They don't know me."

"Oh, but they know that you saved them, and for that they are grateful. Your kindness will come back to you, Zora. In the least way you'd expect."

The ash magic user is once again baffled, finding in Owen's words a resemblance to his current situation.

_A Silva saved me. How_ _fucked_ _up is that?_

The boy is silent, and Owen pats his shoulder, looking rather fond. "You really remind me of Zara." Zora looks at him, eyes soft and it was a rare sight. "Strong sense of justice."

He mumbles as the doctor walks away. "Thanks."

Owen hears it anyway, and chuckles to himself as he waves a hand at him. "Oh, right. Visiting hours is until 6pm only, but I suppose I can make an exception."

He grins. "Feh."

—

Violet eyes stared outside the window. The capital was still bustling with life, lights strewn around open shops and chatters of people could still be heard from a distance. Nebra leans on the headrest, closing her eyes in thought.

"I really thought we were about to die back then." She murmurs to herself, recalling the memory before she blacked out. The rest was in a haze, but she does remember being carried. But by who?

A flash of red enters her mind and she sighs. "I wonder how he's doing."

"What am I doing here again?" Zora says to himself, one hand clutching a bundle of apples while the other is positioned to knock. He could see the orange glow of a lamp from the gap under the door, meaning that she was still awake.

True to his words, Owen did make sure that no guard would stop him from entering, even this late.

Not that he couldn't sneak in, of course.

He grits his teeth, and knocks.

Knocking was heard from outside, making Nebra turn her head. The clock read 7:50. Who was visiting her this late and how did they get past the guards?

She clears her throat. "Who is it?"

A beat of silence, then the person speaks. "Zora."

Her heart races for an unknown reason. _Why is he here?_

She lightly slaps her cheeks, in case this was a dream. It was not.

"E-Enter."

The door creaks open, and the same red enters nonchalantly, walking towards the stool beside her bed. He placed something on the table and says "Apples."

Nebra blinks in surprise. "Thank you."

"Do you want me to cut you some apples?"

She blinks again, a bit embarrassed for being in a daze just because he's here. "S-Sure. Thank you."

"Hn." He makes his way towards the small sink at the corner and peels one, back turned to her. By the candlelight, Nebra could see the bruises on his exposed back and she winces.

"Aren't you cold?" She asks.

He raises an eyebrow. "By what?"

"Your... clothes. I just think they reveal too much." She says, making sure not to put a sharp tone in her words the best as she can.

Zora smirks to himself, _the royal is trying to be approachable for once_ , he thought as he carried the plate of fruit towards her, _might as well indulge._

He hands her the plate and sits down, arms crossed. "What an honest opinion, bubble bath."

She looks down, hands curling into the sheets in her fluster, _why am I so flustered?!_ She just grabs an apple without looking at him when she saw something being placed on her lap.

Nebra tilts her head. "A doll?"

 _That looked exactly like someone,_ she thought.

Zora huffs, eyes on her as she gently picked it up and examined it. Her eyes widen a bit. The doll's clothes, mask, hair-

"It's you!" She gasps, awestruck.

 _Cute_ , Zora thought.

What?

He glances to the side. "Yup. My father made it."

She turns to him, hand caressing the doll's red hair, a knowing expression on her face. "Zara Ideale."

He snaps her eyes back at her, stunned. "You know him?"

"Oh so I was right?" She quips, elated in her guess. "It was the last name. When she was alive, Mother spoke highly of him. A hardworker with a pure heart, she said."

Nebra turns to him, and her chest heaves as he saw his peaceful expression, his blue eyes unbelievably soft.

"Blue eyes known for the kindness they carry."

Zora smiles, not the taunting smirk he uses in his opponents or the grin he dons when he sees something feral.

It was a real one.

He chuckles. "You're not so bad, bubble bath."

Instead of being insulted, Nebra just grins and takes another slice from the plate. "You're not so bad yourself."

A minute of silence, Nebra's chewing the only thing heard.

He speaks again. "You saved me back there."

"Back where?"

"At Poe." He murmurs, and he felt his cheeks heat up unnaturally at his next word.

"Thanks."

Nebra is still, eyes locked with his. _Did he just...?_

She smiles a bit. "I didn't save us, you know. I passed out. All I remembered after that was being carried by someone. Maybe Brother Nozel sent some backup."

Now it was Zora who was still, eyes flashing shock and a bit of... pain?

Nebra shakes her head, believing it as just a trick of light. His head is hung low now, and she is confused. "Zora?"

After a few seconds, his head is back up again and he is wearing his usual grin. "I see. Welcome home, I guess."

Nebra squints. _Home_.

She all but suddenly remembers her carrier, one with weird black clothes that look a lot like Zora's.

_Oh I'm sorry, your_ _Highnesss_ _. Do you want me to put you down?_

In her memories she looked up, violet meeting an enchanting shade of blue and a tuft of red-

_Wake me up when we're home._

"Gah!" She shivers, head spinning. She couldn't see her surroundings, only hearing the rustle of movements beside her and she realized that her eyes were closed shut.

"Aw, crap." Zora mutters, supporting Nebra's limp body by the arms. Out of the blue, the royal started acting weird, moaning about what he deciphered was a headache and then she passed out in front of him.

Again.

How cliche.

"Is passing out your forte or something? Jeez." He whispers to her, tucking a loose strand of silver hair behind her ear. The rise and fall of her chest indicated that she was still alive and he is honestly relieved.

If she'd died, Nozel would hunt him down across every kingdom, hell hath no fury and he is in no mood to hide from the Silver Eagles Captain.

He decides to call Owen and was about to stand up when she stirs, little movements alerting him. He peers down at her twitching eyelids. "Bubble bath."

She groans, but doesn't budge.

"Bubble ba- oof!"

She tackles him, arms around his chest and the wind is almost knocked out of him in surprise. His hands are raised in the air, not knowing where to place them. Her eyes were closed, her grip on his back tight for him to pry off.

His breathing became erratic, coming in shallow gasps because her face was pressed on his bare chest and it was cold, like she was getting warmth from him.

That's the only plausible reason he could think of, because why the heck would Nebra Silva hug him?

He coughs. "Bubble ba- Nebra."

"Thank you."

He is once again stunned. "Huh?"

He saw her shake her head, and she put some distance between them, not letting go of the hug. Her eyes were still closed, but a rueful smile was on her lips.

Zora knits his eyebrows, confused, because what else should he feel? Is she dreaming or is she trolling with him?

He is not liking what her present actions are doing to him and he wants her to let go. To let him recompose himself because his walls are cracking, the justice against royalty that he built himself crumbling because of one and a familiar, scary feeling is budding into his chest. He doesn't know anything, only fear.

Fear that the simple action might twist something in him and then he'll fall, fall so deep and lose again in the end.

Shit.

He has to leave.

Now.

He tries his best to carefully remove her hands from his back but it only goes tighter. He bit his lip to stop a shout when she pulls him to her and he loses his balance. Thankfully, he is quick to lean an arm on the bed beside her head or else his face would've crashed in her chest. He adjusts himself and his neck hurts. One of her hands unawarely climbed up to the back of his neck and tugs, his pointed nose bumping slightly against hers by accident.

It takes a second for him to realize the grave situation he is in, and a chill crawls up his spine when her warm breath fanned against his face.

"This is so awkward." He mutters, not moving his lips much in fear that it might brush against hers, _by accident_.

She groans softly, her eyelids opening. It opens a little, and his blue eyes caught sight of a little violet, droopy and _why so enticing._

 _She's awake,_ he thought. "Neb-"

Zora is shocked stiff as her hand pushes his head towards hers, their lips crashing with pressure. The arm leaning on the side tumbled, and her fingers deftly run on his hair, tugging.

His eyes are wide, and hers were closed. Is she still dreaming?

He hates that he didn't not like it.

 _Screw it,_ he mutters against the kiss before he responds, answering with a press of his own that made her whimper. One of his arms leaned on the bed while the other cupped the back of her head, pulling her closer as they fought, lip by lip and teeth by teeth.

_I don't know what I'm doing._

After who knows how long, she finally loosens her grip, dropping back on the bed in her slumber. He stumbles back, legs weak as jelly and heart thrumming in his ears.

He blinks.

Breathe in, breathe out.

Wooh.

"What the hell." He manages to utter, looking incredulously at the motionless, unaware, sleeping body of Nebra Silva.

Peaceful, like she didn't just assault him earlier.

 _Was that a dream too?_ He didn't know, his chest feels so constricted. He slowly walks towards the door to leave, ecstatic blue eyes glancing again at the sleeping royal before it fell.

Royal.

Right, she was a royal.

And he was a peasant.

How foolish of him to forget.

He smirks, touching his sensitive lip red from the exchange. His heart twinged, their difference in status clawing again in his mind as he left.

_That was only a dream._

—

Nebra had a very funny dream.

She wasn't sure if it was a dream or nightmare, the way her chest hurt while recalling it.

Him? Visit? _Me_?

Nah.

"Are you alright, Nebra?" Owen asks her, writing in a piece of paper. The royal was grinning to herself and he became concerned.

She shakes her head, grin still on her lips. "I just had a very weird dream. Or maybe nightmare."

"Oh?" The doctor muses, glancing at her. "You said it's weird, but you're smiling. So maybe you liked the dream?"

She is caught off guard by what he said, her dream of Zora's visit until the escalated moment flashing vividly once again in her memory. Her face heats up profusely and she pouts.

"I-I don't know. And it was a dream, so no need to think about it."

_And no way would I do what I did back then!_

...right?

"I see." Owen quips, folding the prescription and handing it to her. "By the way,"

Nebra looks at him. He smiles, pointing at the table.

"Who brought you apples?"


	3. Missions and visions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The squads head out to help Diamond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am BACK with this after how many days? Weeks? I lost couuunt
> 
> So anyway, online classes haven't really been kind to me. :(
> 
> Think my writer's touch is getting rusty. 
> 
> (Welp, sorry in advance if it sucks.) Enjoy reading! :)

_Good thing my bed back here at the quarters is huge._

Was Nebra's thought as she tossed and turned at the cushions, pressing the pillows on her face and removing it repeatedly. She bites her lip- she knows why she's anxious when she glanced at the apples on her side table, taunting her.

Red apples.

Red hair-

She muffles a scream on her pillow. _That was a dream_ , she keeps telling herself. _You have to get some rest, you have a mission tomorrow_.

Being flustered seems so... out of character.

But being flustered was becoming more often with her so was it... becoming part of her character?

She sighs heavily, wishing for the goddess of sleep to just knock her out.

Besides, her first mission since she was discharged didn't require her looking like a sleepless pompom, so she squeezes her eyes shut. She frowns. Earlier, Nozel had an unusual stack of lectures for her.

_"You must not overwork yourself. Again."_

_She squeaks out an audible reply. "Yes, Brother."_

_"You must not stray from your teammates. Remember your terrible sense of direction."_

_She_ _winces_ _._ _Nozel_ _clears his throat. "_ _Nebra_ _."_

_"Y-Yes, Brother."_

Nebra then aligns her breathing with the sound of the breeze outside. She finds the act calming, as she feels sleep wash over her purple eyes.

_

Nebra wakes up to the sound of loud knocks. Rubbing her eyes, she looks at the rising sun and heads to the bathroom. She wakes up completely to the cold water brushing her face. Looking at the mirror, her piercing violet eyes stare back at her.

_Another day of a Magic Knight._

Putting on her robe, she doesn't get to the end of the hallway towards the stairs when someone pulls her back. She jolts, ready to wrap whoever was bold enough to touch her, a royal, first thing in the morning-

"Oh, Solid." She says, anger receding. Her younger brother puts a hand on his lips, gesturing her to be silent.

She raises an eyebrow. "Huh?"

He peeks through a wall and Nebra, curios as to why her brother was hiding, does the same.

At the table in the lobby was Nozel and Letoile Becquerel, the latter's head hung low. Nozel's eyes were sharp as he looks at her.

Letoile bites her quivering lip at the intimidation and humiliation. "It took me a while to remember... things, Captain Nozel. Back when the elves possessed us..."

Violet eyes widened in knowing. Nebra knows where this is going.

If it was humanly possible Letoile's shoulders sunk lower, and she stands up and bows deeply. "I am so sorry! As a shameful Golden Dawn member, I will accept any punishment!"

The two eavesdropping's lips formed into O's.

Solid's eyes narrow. This was an unusual morning.

Nozel sighs. A streak of mercury emerges from his hand, and the two jolt in shock, thinking that Nozel was going to stab her-

When it lands lightly on Letoile's head. She looks up, almost-tears receding at the slight bump of something on her head. She is met with the Silver Eagles Captain's apathetic expression.

"You have no need to apologize to me." He says, and she straightens. "We are well aware that you've been controlled by the elves. And so were the others."

Letoile's stiff shoulders relax a bit. Nozel clears his throat, steel eyes glancing at the marble wall across them. "Come out."

The two are caught off guard, elbowing each other in reproach with Nebra glaring at Solid before they step out from their hiding. Letoile's glassy eyes widen.

"L-Lady Nebra, I-"

Nebra raises a hand to silence her and Letoile's breath catches in her throat.  
Pushing her silver hair back, her violet eyes become void, unreadable.

Ever since she saw Letoile prostrate herself, she knew what she had to do.

Change, Nebra. Change.

Nozel and Solid both peer at her curiously, waiting for her next move. She walks towards the Golden Dawn member, the said woman flinching at the clicking sound of her heels as she drew closer and closer.

Solid gets ready to close his eyes. _Somebody's gonna get slapped._

But no.

Nebra puts a hand on her shoulder.

Nozel's eyes widen, although unnoticeable.

She breathes out. "All in the past. I am well over it too, don't beat yourself up over it."

The braid obstructs the pierce of Nozel's stare at the scene unfolding in front of him, but doesn't make it any less intriguing. Solid looks like he was thinking the same thing, face contorted into one of disbelief.

What on Earth happened to their sister?

_

"Sit down, dumbasses!" Yami bellows, punching a wall to bits. Magna and Luck stop fighting, Charmy almost chokes on her tatoes and Vanessa wakes up with a start.

The whole squad kneels in front of their captain.

Asta raises a hand. "What is it, Captain Yami?"

He puffs out a smoke cloud. "I told you about a mission yesterday, but here's what it's about from Julius."

"Oh! Are we gonna fight enemies?!" Luck beams, lightning already crackling from his hands. "Let's go!"

"Are we going somewhere? Is there wine there?" Vanessa slurs, raising an empty bottle.

"Can Marie come with us?"

"*Another mission with my friends. This will be very memorable.*"

"A m-mi-mission?! H-How embarrasing!"

"Shut yer traps, dumbasses! I ain't done yet!" Yami roars, breaking another wall. Henry frowns behind the glass, grimoire open.

They fall into silence.

"Eherm. So apparently, Julius received a letter from the Diamond Kingdom the other day."

Asta perks up. "Was it from Mars?"

Noelle beside him speaks. "Oh! We haven't heard from him, right?"

"Who the hell is that?" Yami mutters, clueless. "Anyway, the Diamond's asking for help in manpower to repair their kingdom since the so-called shining generals are all disabled."

The memory of Diamond's generals destroyed by a single man flashed involuntarily in Vanessa, Magna and Luck's minds.

"And one more thing." He adds, making the whole squad look at him again. He purses his lips.

"Some squads are coming with us and are hitching a ride here upon that old kid's orders."

Zora opens one blue eye.

The others scream.

"Is the Golden Dawn coming?" Asta asks, a bit hopeful that he'd see Yuno again. Yami shakes his head.

"Too bad, nah. Weird Mask and others are going to Spade, probably to introduce Prince Cool Guy to the kingdom's court."

Charmy giggles, stuffing tatoes into her mouth.

Asta's smile falters a bit. Finral, perceptive when it comes to little brothers, slings an arm around his muscly shoulder. "Now now, Asta-kun. I'm sure your rival's safe. Aren't ya happy for him?"

Grin back on his face, Asta nods. "I am happy for him. Damn that royal jerk, I am still going to beat him!"

Noelle smiles.

"Wait, if the Golden Dawn isn't coming, then who is?" Vanessa says, now sober.

Yami crosses his arms. "Nice question. Coming with us are the Purple Orcas, Coral Peacocks, Blue Rose Knights and..." he squints at the paper, "damn my handwriting sucks. And oh, Silver Eagles."

Luck beams excitedly. "Are there strong guys coming? Because I wanna fight them!"

"Calm down, battle maniac!" Magna says, aiming a fireball at the tuft of blonde. Luck cackles cutely.

"M-More people?!" Grey squeaks, hiding herself behind Gauche. "E-Embarrassing- eek!"

"*I am going to make more friends.*" Gordon mutters. "*Yay.*"

"Wait, are all of them coming?" Finral asks, a bit nervous of being surrounded by more strong people. Yami lights a new cigarette and looks outside.

"Nope. Only some. I think I have a list here..." he pats the sides of his pants, probably looking for something. Asta looks at the window, a tad excited.

How are you back there, Mars?

"Found it, alright!" Rejoicing, Yami pulls another crumpled piece of paper from his back pocket. He clears his throat. "Clover letters are so wormy, they suck. Anyway, here are the people coming with us. From Coral Peacocks, Dorothy and... how do you pronounce this? Kish? Irsh?"

"Kirsch?" Noelle pipes up, a bit incredulous. Yami hums. "Right, Kirsch. Captain Sleepy's magic turned out to be useful when handling debris and Kirsch here, I don't know what his magic is."

"So Mimosa's bro is coming!" Asta exclaims, astonished. Yami continues speaking.

"Purple Orcas are... only one person. Xerx Lugner, the Saint of Pure whatever."

Zora smirks at the name. The whole squad turns to him and even with his eyes closed, he feels the stares they're sending his way.

He sighs. "What?"

Vanessa laughs. "Nothing, nothing!"

"I'm not done yet." Hearing that, the whole squad looks at him again. Henry smiles proudly at the newly constructed walls.

"Blue Rose Knights are Spiny Prickly Queen and Sol."

Magna grimaces. "Giant woman's coming?" He tsks. "Annoying."

"Oho, annoying? Didn't you just kiss her last week?" Luck pipes up innocently. Vanessa hollers in laughter as the others crowd the fire-user wildly, interrogating him.

"Y-You kissed her Magna-senpai?!" Asta says loudly, shaking his shoulders. Noelle was gaping at her senior, face red. Finral was curled up on the floor, crying.

"I'm so jealous. So jea- No, Finral! Finnes is the only one for me, damn it!"

Grey's face turns a deeper shade of red. "T-That's-"

"Wow, Magna." Gauche comments, looking up from his Marie figurine. "Didn't know you had it in you."

Gordon is paper white and Zora smirks again, eyes still closed. "Feh." _Impressive_.

A sputtering crimson mess, Magna struggles to evade all their questions. Heat spreads to his cheeks and he feels his mana flaring. "It wasn't a kiss- I didn't- Luck, you bastard!"

Luck cackles.

Yami grins, holding a newly lit cigarette. _Little delinquent's all grown up. Amazing. But..._

He heaves a breath and raises his fist. "What'd I tell ya about interrupting my talk, dumbasses?!"

Another wall shatters with his punch. The squad freezes and Henry groans. "Not... again..."

They bow their heads. "Sorry, Captain! Please continue!"

"Seriously, my hair's gonna go white from dealing with you all." Yami groans, scratching the back of his head. He looks at the letter again. "Right. Lastly is Silver Eagles. Coming with us is Braid-man and family. That's all."

Both eyes flutter open, casting a scrutinizing gaze at Yami. This time it's Vanessa who frowns.

"So braided grandpa's coming." She says in mild annoyance. Charmy pats her back.

"There, there. Want a tatoe?"

Noelle is still. _Family?_ It means Nebra and Solid are also coming.

She bites her lip to hide a nervous smile.

Like a flipped switch, her pink eyes automatically look for red hair for an unknown reason.

When she sees it the owner is already walking towards the door, back turned to them.

_

Nebra is not prepared.

Totally not.

She fights the quivering of her lips as the mercury eagle gets closer and closer to the misshapen base. Her hands feel clammy, and she tries to take deep breaths.

Calm down... it was a dream, right? No need to be so nervous. Calm down, calm-

"Nebra."

She jerks, almost losing her balance. Nozel is looking at her blankly, eyebrow noticeably raised. "You've been out of it since we left. Do you have a problem?"

She dons her usual blank expression. "None, brother. I guess I'm just a little excited to see Noelle."

Nozel raises an eyebrow, suspicion evident on his face but he doesn't pry and she lets go of a breath she didn't know she was holding.

Solid leans closer and whispers to her ear. "That was lame, sister."

She glares at him. "Shut up."

The eagle lands in front of the Black Bulls base. The Silvas saw the representatives from the Blue Rose Knights, Coral Peacocks and Purple Orcas already there.

Nebra rolls her eyes. Of course he'd be here. Great.

Yami steps out of the door, hands on his hips in a poor attempt to be formal. "Is everyone here?"

Charlotte nods at him. "I-I think so."

"I can't believe my beautiful self would have to ride in this blasphemy." Kirsch said, dramatically putting th back of his hand on his forehead. Awake Dorothy pats his back.

"Calm down, Kirsch. Wizard king orders, remember?" She reminds him, giggling. Her vice captain sighs and nods.

Yami, obviously, doesn't care about their opinions at all.

"Alright let's go!" He bellows, putting a hand over his mouth. "Oi Henry! Bull time!"

"O...kay!" The blocks floated, and the non-Black Bulls are taken aback by it all. Nebra and the others watch in astonishment as the blocks rearranged themselves to form what looked like a giant... Bull?

Solid takes a step back. "What the heck's with that insane magic? Does the Black Bulls have another royalty besides Noelle?"

"I don't think so." Nebra quips, still looking at the structure in awe. "Nobility, perhaps? But this magic is too vast to be from nobility only."

"Well well, aren't ya curious?" Yami asks them, grinning. He looks at the reconstructed mobile base. "Good, because I ain't telling ya about Henry over there."

Kirsch's eyes roll.

Nozel purses his lips. "I see."

"No you don't, your braid's blocking your eyes." Yami retorts and turns to the door. He doesn't see Nozel's glare and Kirsch's meager attempt to hide his chuckle. 

"Just so you know, we may be attacked any moment." Charlotte points out in a no-nonsense tone. "Does your base have precautionary measures against that? Or do we fight them off?"

Sol asks the same, eyes starting to flit towards the surroundings. Yami grins.

"I ain't sure if you ever met her, but I've got someone here who deals with that. Vanessa!"

"Captain!" A voice shouts, and the pink-haired witch comes strolling towards them. Yami is a bit relieved that she wasn't wearing only her usual underwear in front of other squads, but he doesn't care either way.

"We need your cat."

"Alright!" She says and a red thread spins upwards, takes the shape of a cat when it reaches the top of the base. Vanessa waves her hand.

"We're counting on you, Rogue!"

The red cat meows.

"What's a cat got to do with defense?" Solid asks, incredulous. Yami turns to him, grinning.

"That cat changes fate, royal."

Solid laughs. "You're kidding."

"He's not." Nozel answers, blue eyes at the cat rolling on top of the bull's head. Solid blinks.

Yami huffs deeply, hand on his katana as he fixes a pointed glare at Nozel.

"You aren't thinking about recruiting Vanessa into your squad, are you? Because if you are, I am going to slash that braid off your face."

Solid's eyebrows scrunch. "Don't you dare talk to-"

The Silver Eagles captain raises a hand to stop his brother. He meets the foreigner's glare with one of his own. "Rest assured, I am not." His narrowed eyes flit towards the witch who was now watching their exchange of words.

"I've no need for a drunkard who wears indecent clothes."

Vanessa stiffens.

The coldness of Nozel's eyes dissipate quickly.

 _That was a bad answer,_ but Yami knew better than to lose his cool at the royal's usual ignorance. He grits his teeth, inhales sharply and turns towards the bull base.

"We're leaving! Dumbasses are already inside. Get in!"

_

The ride wasn't as awkward as they expected it to be.

Asta, Noelle, Gordon, Grey and Finral were fussing over Sol, the woman blushing furiously while denying their proclamations.

"B-Big Sis, help me..." she turns, but is met with silence as her captain's eyes were focused on someone else.

"By the way, where's Charmy?" Luck asks, dodging a fireball. Noelle looks up at him.

"She's at Captain Dorothy's Glamour world. Said she wanted to try eating fish from there."

Luck nods, "Oh, sounds fun!" And then electrocutes Magna in the back. "Let's make a Crackling Magna typhoon!"

"Bastard, no!"

"*Magna's trying to dodge us.*" Gordon mutters. Nobody pays attention to him so he goes back into making dolls of Charlotte and Sol to add in his friends collection.

He smiles after adding the last blue button for Doll Charlotte's eye.

Nero's eyes narrow, bird form flying towards the roof for silence. At least Rogue wasn't noisy. Zora was beginning to have the same thoughts, eye twitching at all the racket. He sits up and groans.

_Can't even get a wink of sleep._

As he stood up, he notes that Nebra was nowhere to be seen.

But why does he care anyway?

He strolls towards Henry. "Where's my room today?"

Henry smiles. "Second... floor. Far right..."

"Thanks." Zora mumbles, and he makes his way lazily towards the stairs. Looking for the door to his room, which is pretty hard because all the doors are seriously the same, he is surprised to find a person standing in the middle of the hallway, looking so out of place in the not-so-pristine chaos.

Nebra has her eyes closed, her magic coming forth as her magic threads tread different ways around the base, giving her an overview of its weird layout. In her mind, she could see where each thread had ended up.

Her face contorts at the sight of what looked like a torture room.

What do they even use that for?

She internally sighs, her stomach clenching with disbelief because that was not the room she was looking for. She picks out another thread in a different location.

She then squints with all the steam. From the sound of running water, the two pools she could make out and the temperature, she concludes that the room was the base's bath.

She frowns. Wrong room.

Zora resists the urge to laugh at what he was seeing, sleepiness starting to say farewell. The royal looks like she was dreaming about something bad while standing, her face contorting into discomfort every few seconds. He sees that her grimoire was open, and concludes that she was too concentrated to even feel his presence.

And the fact that he's a low-mana peasant not even worth being alert around.

He feels the familiar, prickly sensation of faint magic around him, delicately controlled and hidden that it doesn't activate any of his traps.

He grins. _Not bad._

Nebra feels her patience straining as she picks out another thread. She has come across almost a dozen rooms; a gothic, one that looks like a sweet shop, one filled with pictures of a little girl, and one in which she saw a bird landing then sleeping on a nest by the window.

 _That bird is so cute,_ her mind coos.

_But when am I ever going to find the damn comfort room?!_

She picks out a thread out of the very few left, and her visual connection with it shows that it seeps into a small crack in a wall, entering a room and crashing into something white. She moves the thread out of the way, and she is relieved to find out that it was toilet paper.

_Finally!_

She starts to navigate it around the room she was looking for ages (minutes, but she was impatient), and confirms that it really was the comfort room judging by the rusty faucet and hairy leg.

She stills.

Hairy leg?

Gulping, she controls her thread to face above, to show her a visual and an answer to why was there a hairy leg in her vision-

"Oi, who the hell are you?!" She hears the voice in her mind, and the thread shows her piercing black eyes and a cigarette-clipped mouth upon a slouched body.

Yami Sukehiro.

Yami Sukehiro possibly taking a dump.

Aw, fuck.

Nebra screams hell, eyes opening with a jolt as she loses her balance in shock. She feels a harsh tug at her back, stopping her descent towards the floor but she doesn't register it because she is panting, sweating bullets, mortified.

Zora rolls his eyes, saying _are you kidding me?_ and his hands are supporting on the seemingly petrified royal's hips. He shakes her trembling body. "No, you are not going to faint again and make me look after you."

Controlling her erratic breathing, her mind then sinks in on what was currently happening.

First, she was out of balance but she wasn't falling; her body was suspended in the air.

Second, there was a different warmth on her waist.

She gulps, praying internally, hoping for the best as she looks up.

Violet meets blue.

She flinches again and yelps, pushing Zora away with much force that he is sent barreling towards the wall with an audible thud.

"What the heck?!" Zora growls, rubbing the back of his head as he dizzily raised to glare at her. He saw her stop a bit from flailing.

Nebra blinks, stoicism flashing into her face immediately. "That'll teach you not to touch a royal without permission, Black Bull."

After that she turns her heel sharply, walking away. Zora had already stood when she stopped walking and turned around to face him, earlier stoicism showing cracks of what he could decipher as embarrassment if he squinted hard enough.

And oh, his eyes were very much _narrowed_ in annoyance.

He raises a red eyebrow. "What?"

Nebra starts walking towards his direction, the dignified royal act still on the air around her.

"Wrong way."

And she walks past him, not even sparing a glance to the person she just injured.

When she is out of his sight, Nebra dashes towards the ground floor, not losing speed over the slight tremors caused by the base's movement. Reaching the corridor to the living room where they all were, she wipes the sweat off her forehead, fixes her hair and the creases in her clothes, and walks in with superiority.

Inside she is a mumbling mess.

_Oh my god, I need to say sorry! But I can't and- argh gosh darn it!_

_Thank goodness I'm really an expert in hiding my emotions or else Big Brother_ _Nozel_ _will abhor me if he finds out I'm flustered over a... peasant._

Peasant.

The smile threatening to slip out of her falters.

Right, she was a royal.

And he was a peasant.

Her mind also concludes that what she had been flustered all day for was just a _dream_ , based on his unchanging expressions and unaffected way of interacting with her.

Nebra doesn't know why she even feels disappointed.

Sitting down beside Solid, who was still ranting to an obviously unflattered Nozel about the dirty sofa, Nebra wishes that her bladder would hold out until they reached the Diamond Kingdom.

As soon as the sound of her footsteps cease, he lets out a breathless chuckle. Eye slightly twitching in pain, he looks at the small gash on his palm when he had balanced himself earlier to avoid his skull from being broken.

"I help her again and _this_ is what I get?" He mutters to himself, incredulous as he continued his walk back to his room to maybe summon again his sleepiness for a nap.

Plopping down unceremoniously on the bed, manners be darned, Zora groans as his pained back hits the soft, comforting cushions.

Looking at the ceiling, he started counting imaginary Charmy sheeps until it eventually became sheeps with long, silver hair. Shaking his head, he feels droopy, eyes starting to close. Sleep is starting to overtake him and he doesn't remove his left hand on his lips.

Zora grins.

_Seriously, you damn royal princess._  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note!!!
> 
> The part wherein Magna "kissed" Sol is based on my other story in Aftermath series, The Soil Blushes. 
> 
> That's all, see ya next time!
> 
> (P.s. I wrote a very very rare pair Haikyuu story, but still debating whether or not to post it. Welp)


	4. Confusion with the Information

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day of work and he already... hates it.
> 
> First day of work and she is... annoyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello peeps! Sorry for the 5-week absence, had to finish 251 requirements. Yeesh.
> 
> Anyway, made this longer than the last chapter. Enjoy! 
> 
> Sorry for the chapter titles tee-hee :P
> 
> (Once again, apologies in advance if this sucks. I tried, believe me.)

Luck feels someone watching him from the corner of his eye.

Intently.

His smile doesn't falter, however, as he lights Magna's shirt on fire with a lightning spark. Luck dodges a fireball effortlessly, cackling but he feels it- the eyes still piercing him.

His mana-sensing abilities are heightened; he is always on alert, he can depict the mana of whoever was directing their attention towards him; he knows it since an hour ago, knows _who_ it was.

His grin widens.

What he wanted to know was _why_.

_

Nozel's eye opens at the feel of hostile magic outside. He looks around, checking if there was anyone else who felt it.

Nobody even cared to look.

Well, what did he expect?

Suppressing an irritated sigh, he took it to himself to stand up and open the rusty door.

"Big Brother, where are you going?" Nebra asks, and he points at the door. Wordlessly, he opens it.

He is surprised to see a large ball of fire heading towards him, and his eyes catch sight of an evilly grinning mage below them-

When the spell suddenly changes direction, hitting the caster back as he shouts in pure shock.

Hearing a meow he looks up, and sees Vanessa on the roof while she pats the cat (Rogue, was it?) on the head.

Nozel's seen it before, but that cat was clearly a phenomenal spell. He couldn't recall even one royalty in the libraries who could see fate, much less control it.

 _I do not like to admit it,_ he blinks, _but Vanessa Enoteca's magic is interesting._

Also, she was one of the few who even bothered to talk to him first, even so. Many wouldn't even meet him in the eye, but she just up and argued with him the first time they met.

She smiles serenely, violet eyes raking the surroundings viewed beautifully from the top. It lands on a pair of blue ones locked on her.

Nozel stills.

_I should've left._

He finds himself dumbfounded at her next action.

Vanessa waves a hand at him, smiling.

"Hi!"

Blinking, his lips part slightly.

_What?_

Regaining his composure, not like he lost it in the first place, he nods at her in recognition and goes back inside maybe a bit too quickly. He sits again on the rundown sofa, breathing steadily.

_So, she wasn't... mad at him, of sorts._

If Solid noticed the very small smile on his big brother's face, he doesn't comment on it.

_

At long last they've arrived, much to Yami's relief.

Being stuck with stoic faces and idiots for hours didn't do him any good.

Them jackasses each had their own little worlds, fighting and crashing his beloved base. If it was only the Bulls, he would've hollered at them to shut the hell up, but _no_.

To make things even more obscene, someone's visual crept at the comfort room at the same while he was taking a dump. A very big one.

Poor soul. He wonders what happened to the caster now. What kind of psychological trauma did the person get?

Mars was waiting by the borders, arms crossed and a refreshed expression on his face. It was Asta who first ran towards him in all rambunctiousness and gave him a high-five.

"Yo! How have you been?"

Mars sighs. "Rebuilding a kingdom is hard. Barely had time to prepare the forces then the generals were wiped out in an instant. Manpower for rebuild is a must."

"Well," Asta quips, pointing at the large group behind him, "isn't that why we're here?"

The Diamond man smiles. "Yes. Follow me, please. Ladros and Fanzell-sensei are waiting at the main ground." He leads the way, and the Clover Knights follow.

Upon walking, their eyes wince in pity at the horrendous state of the houses and farms they passed through. The Dark Triad paid no heed to the innocent people whatsoever.

Then again, when did they ever care about anything that isn't horrible?

The Clover Kingdom wasn't in any better state, but considering the Diamond's lack of soldiers, they offered a generous hand.

As they reached main ground, Fanzell waves a hand at them.

"Yoo-hoo!"

Asta grins. "Fanzell- put on a shirt!" He shouts pointedly. The man looks down to see that he, indeed, wasn't wearing a shirt.

Again.

Fanzell blinked. "Oh, when did that happen?" Laughing to himself, he grabs a shirt from somewhere with his air while the Black Bulls just stared at him, clearly unsurprised.

Noelle rolls her eyes. "Not this again."

Her big brother eyes her, baffled.

"Keke, let's get going to the castle, yo!" Ladros says, pointing finger guns at Asta who returns it with the same enthusiasm. They trudge through the debris and the rustling people in the ruins, occasionally using their magic to lift up a few chunks of concrete or wood that block the way.

Reaching the castle of Diamond, Nebra looks up the edifice and stares, scrutinizing.

_Hmm... it's a bit smaller than ours back home. But I suppose it'll do._

Zora's eyes narrow. _Can't he just take us to the damn quarters already? I'm sleepy._

And as if Fanzell had read his mind, he leads them to a corridor when they entered the castle. Similar-looking double doors lined up both sides of the marble-studded walls, and a few servants scurry around, making sure every nook and cranny was spotless.

Smiling, Fanzell gestures at the doors. "These are the quarters you'll be staying in for two days. Each room has two beds, so all will have to share."

The rest nods, seemingly no one was bothered.

Or so Fanzell thought.

" _Share_?" Solid bloviates, face scrunched in that of pure disgust because _Why should a royal like me "share"?_

Nozel gives him a look and he stiffens, superior facade gone.

The Diamond men smile apologetically. "A third of the castle was affected in an explosion, so we patched up some rooms. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience."

Elbowing a meek Solid, Nebra shoots him a don't-be-a-brat glare and Noelle looks at them nervously.

Thankfully, the three men in front of them pay no heed to the royal awkwardness.

"Well, I'll be leading you to the first site in fifteen minutes. Please follow this list of pairings that your Wizard King sent us." Fanzell says, and he hands Yami a piece of paper before making his way out to inform the other helpers.

He puffs out smoke. "Okay, dumbasses and idiots. Listen because I'll only read this once. The pairings are:

Yami-Asta. The kid? Namu. Anyway, Henry will be staying in the base and Nero can just go fly off somewhere she wants. Find some anti-magic bird buddies or wherever her little wings take her. 

Vanessa-Noelle, hey little royal, don't let Vanessa drink too much alcohol or she'll puke all over you.

Grey-Charmy, Charmy don't eat the closet.

Gauche-Gordon. Gordon, put your creepy-ass dolls in a safe because the maids might throw it away, thinking it's cursed.

Magna-Luck, if you two destroy the room I am going to slash you.

Charlotte-Sol,

Nebra-Dorothy,

Braid-Solid,

Kirsch-Finral. Oi transportation, don't get too enamored in hunting for pretty ladies or I'll kill ya. And lastly,

Zora-Xerx."

"Are you kidding me," Zora mumbles in disbelief, eyes locked on the name beside his. His roommate for two days.

The said roommate glares at him from the corner of his eye before raising his hand. "Objection, you cannot be serious as to pair _me_ with a peasant."

"Yeah yeah," the Black Bull Captain drawls. A grin makes its way on his face.

"A peasant who happened to beat you one-sidedly in the past."

The Purple Orca Vice Captain's lips snap shut, face twisted into one of apprehension and a bit of shame, if one squinted. "Tch."

Zora snickers. "Feh."

"Are you serious?!" Asta hollers, amazed. "That's so frickin cool!"

"It ain't sounding cool anymore coming from you, little shit."

"What was that?!"

"Everyone," Charlotte bellows seriously, "Sir Fanzell said to wait in the rooms. Get in. Sol, follow me."

"I'll follow you into the ends of the world, Big Sis!" The woman says dreamily, hands clasped together. Magna snorts. "Talk about weird."

"I heard that, Funglasquent! I am so stomping you- mmpmf mpf!"

Charlotte doesn't remove her hand clasped over Sol's mouth. The captain rolls her eyes and drags her subordinate inside.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Magna reaches for the room's knob.

And gets enveloped instantly by blue lightning. "EEEEEYAAAAAH!"

Yami scratches the back of his head. "Now I'm gonna go take a dump. Kid, don't mess up the room." He says and walks towards a maid. The terrified woman almost shrieks as he asked where the toilet was, a shaking finger pointing at the direction.

Lazily entering the room, Zora scans the surroundings. Two beds with a two-meter distance were there, and a sidetable separated it. He plops himself down on the bed beside the wall face first and closes his eyes.

He feels a presence enter and he opens his right eye to see his roommate looking at the room in obvious disgust. Letting out an irritated sigh, Xerx sits down on the bed and glares at him.

After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence does Zora point it out.

"Look, if you wanna try to murder me, just hit me with one of your stupid spells or something. The stare's grating my nerves."

He hears the noble scoff, but he doesn't have time to point it out as Xerx speaks. "I just cannot believe it. First, you humiliate me by using my name to do crude acts during the Royal Knights exam. Then I find out that I get sent on a mission the same as yours? Are we on the same level? No. How did a weak blasphemy such as you end up in the Magic Knights?"

Zora once again rolls his eyes he feels like they'll get stuck.

Xerx Lugner is annoying.

Xerx Lugner is a blabbemouth.

And by some stroke of stupid misfortune, Xerx Lugner is his roommate.

Lying on his back, he crosses his arms and looks at the ceiling. "Right back at ya, you dumb snowman. How's a granddaughter-loving freak like you still in the Magic Knights?"

Taken aback by the words, an angry crease forms in Xerx's forehead. "Wha-? My affinity is ice, you unsophisticated swine! And how dare you call me that?!" He bellows, voice an octave higher and face contorted into one of the ugliest expressions Zora has ever seen. He wants to laugh.

And so he does.

That only serves to make the Purple Orca member angrier. His grimoire opens, cold white mist swirling violently around his body.

Feeling the room shake with thundering mana, Zora grins and sits up. He realizes that he is minutes or seconds away from being skewered.

_I want to live longer, so maybe I'll stop playing with him now._

He looks at the angry noble innocently.

"You're annoying." He says bluntly.

_Sike_ _, my_ _ass_ _._

"Why you little-"

A knock on the door surprises them both. The door creaks open, and a person, a visibly-shaking maid, peeks.

"S-S-Sir F-Fanzell said that all o-of Clover Knights will meet at the ent-trance. T-Thank y-y-you!" The door shuts as quickly as it was opened, and Zora stands up, groaning as he rubs his back.

Opening the door, he looks back. "Well? You coming or what?"

Scoffing, Xerx walks towards the door when Zora left and closes it with his ice. When met by a raised eyebrow by the Black Bull, he speaks.

"Wouldn't want any peasant germs sticking to me."

"I'll just pretend I didn't hear that." The redhead says in apathy, having caught sight of the other knights already at the meeting place. What caught him off guard was Luck practically bouncing towards him, smiling widely.

"Hey hey! I felt strong mana from your room earlier! What? Did you fight? How strong was he? You think you could ask him to fight me?" He asks in a barrage, tapping Zora's shoulders and back. Annoyed, Zora tries to swat his hands away.

"We didn't fight, you maniac. And also, stop fussing over me. You're like a proud grandma."

"Eh?" Luck exclaims, voice a bit dejected yet he was still smiling. "Lame. Captain! Fight me!"

"No thanks."

Sighing, he stretches the back of his neck and looks around, accidentally meeting the eyes of one Nebra Silva.

Hers are serious, shade intimidating he feels like any commoner who looks back at her would shrivel into a withered plant because of the pressure.

But to his honest surprise, she looks away first.

 _The_ Nebra Silva looked away?

He had always thought of those siblings as ones who wouldn't back down from a fight, so seeing another meek side of one of the lady eagles was fascinating.

He is taken aback by his own monologue.

_Another?_

He glances from the side of his eye, and Zora thinks he's just imagining the light red dusting her face.

_Could she have remembered?_

He smirks, shaking his head.

_Impossible._

He cranes his head again to glimpse at her, and he then proves his suspicions wrong when he sees her plastered face, all stoic and void and no-nonsense.

He blinks, desperately not showing the pit of disappointment that forms in his stomach.

_She doesn't remember. You're just being delusional._

_Shut up._

Maybe he just misjudged the situation, and the blush from earlier was from the sweltering heat. Labor was hard, alright. And it was Nebra royal be damned Silva we're talking about here. She might not even know how to use a simple broom. He sighs.

"Why the long face?"

Snapping awake from his daze, he is met with the bright eyes of the Coral Peacocks Captain, whose face was far too close and invaded his personal space. He takes a step back, heart racing in nervous energy because if he doesn't look out, these violet eyes are going to read him like an open book.

Looking away, he coughs. "Nothing." After that, he walks towards where Asta was rambling to an equally-noisy Magna before flinging rainbow stink bugs on both of their faces as a distraction.

Dorothy crosses her arms, confused. "Huh?" She looks slowly at the group of knights and finds something very very interesting.

"Oh...?" Her left brow raises in playful curiosity, and the person must've felt her stare because their shoulders jolt slightly. Dorothy smiles widely.

"Vanessa! Glamour World has catnip, you want some for Rogue?"

_

She's just minding her own business. Yeah. 

Flicking her hands, magical mist appeared underneath the rubble and lifted it off the ground, dropping it towards the dump site near Dorothy Unsworth. The said woman waves her hands and the debris, much to Nebra's amusement, disappear in a poof of glitter.

She wipes the sweat off her forehead and asks a servant for a glass of water. Looking at Dorothy's colorful, lively magic tired her because it was just so... bright. Like the captain. Unlike her, bland affinity and personality combined.

It was becoming a common personal occurrence of hers to feel like that once in a while.

Insecurity?

If someone told her she'd be like this a year ago, she would've rolled her eyes and mocked the joke.

 _The joke's on me,_ she bit her lip.

Well, what happens to a girl when she grows up surrounded by a legend of a mother, two powerful brothers and one steadily-improving little sister that she just used to ignore?

Nebra will tell you what- they get insecure. And in her case, she's panicking a bit. Because if they get too strong, she knows she can never catch up. And she doesn't want that. She wants them to get stronger, but she doesn't want to feel left behind.

Biting her lower lip, she shakes her head.

What kind of shameful Silva has she become?

Choosing to just distract herself with work, Nebra unleashes her magic again, this time lifting three times the load she'd done earlier.

_I'm a Silva. I have to get myself together._

A throb in her arm makes her wince, but she shrugs it off. She drops the lot of debris in front of Dorothy, who lets out a surprised squeak.

"Oh-ho! Fired up now, aren't we?"

"Oi." Yami gruffly calls to Nozel, nudging him in the shoulder. The royal looks at him, deadpanned.

"What?"

"Your sister over there's emitting a weird ki." He says, pointing at the said Silva. Nozel raises an eyebrow, eyes locked at his sister who once again started to lift up rubble with her magic, face in an unfazed expression.

"I sense nothing weird with her. You must have been delusional, foreigner."

"Uh-huh..." The burly man just replies, clearly unconvinced. Ki doesn't lie. And judging from Nebra Silva's ki, she's very much exhausted and having emotional conflict at the moment, but she isn't telling anyone.

Damn those royals and their super ultra mega high pride.

 _But well_ , he slices a giant rock for Noelle to lift up, _not my problem anymore._

He hears an explosion from the back, and is met with a scene of Magna chasing Luck with a flaming bat.

"Stop playing or I'll kill you, dumbasses!"

Sharp spikes of ice suddenly appear between Magna and Luck, making the former jump back in alarm. Luck looks around, and he locks eyes with Xerx, who just acts like he didn't do anything, walking all dignified towards the servant who was carrying a tray.

He holds out his hand. "Give me that."

Before the servant could retort, he takes the tray from her hands and glowered at her. "Slow."

The woman squeaks in fear.

"Not like you gave the poor fellow a chance to speak, though." Vanessa talks back, a bit defiant as she consoled the shaking servant.

The noble said nothing and made his way towards the western part of the site.

_

Feeling a familiar mana, Nebra stands up straight, sighing.

"What do you want?"

"Woah, calm down will ya?" Solid says, raising his hands in surrender. "Big Brother told me to check up on you. I don't know why if you ask me, because you're as snobbish as always."

Nebra scoffs sarcastically. "I don't want to hear that from you."

"But you already did." Is what he replies, and her eyebrow twitches.

"I asked earlier: what do you want?"

Smiling a bit, why is he smiling he looks like a conman Nebra muses to herself, Solid disintegrates a piece of concrete with a water ball, flinging the dust towards his sister.

"What the frig-"

Stings met her eyes that she hurriedly covered. After a few seconds of coughing, she angrily turns to Solid, her grimoire snapping open. "What was that for, you little-"

"Thought I'd make you a little ugly." Solid says, feigning innocence that made her want to chop off his head. His answers were all-

"Horseshit." She doesn't notice she said it out loud, making him gasp because that is not how a royal should speak, let alone behave-

"If you're thinking of lecturing me about royal etiquette and wordings, I am going to bury you under the debris."

Solid's lips clasp shut. There was no way he could lecture her, maybe he could just tell Noz-

"If you tell Brother, I'll tell him it was you who started it. Then, I'll fill your eye sockets with iron dust and use a magnet."

"Oh god, chill with the death threats there." Solid coos, raising both of his hands in surrender. Once again rolling her eyes, Nebra turns away from her brother.

"Tell him I'm fine and you get back to work."

"Get back to work...?" He mutters as the distance increased between them. "Seriously, what happened to her? Normal response would've been 'buzz off' or something like that."

"Solid, is Nebra over there?"

Solid stops at the voice, and his confused expression becomes irritated. "Bold of you to address us without an honorific, lowly noble."

Xerx nods unfazed, a rueful smile playing on his lips.

"I think it's alright, seeing as how I'm going to be part of your family soon."

_The trump card._

Solid's lips form a thin line as his teeth grit inwardly. _This guy is so smug._ "Listen here, _Lugner_." He starts, kicking the ground.

"If you think you can get all _chummy_ with me and Big Brother just because you're Nebra's arranged bethrothed, you are so wrong."

"I am well aware of that." Xerx replies, dusting off his tunic which Solid not-so-intentionally dirtied. Still holding the tray, he starts to walk again where Solid went out from. Stopping a bit, Xerx looks back at him, eyes more daunting.

"About the honorific, how about I call you Brother?"

"Insulting." Solid snaps, nose scrunched in disgust. "Get off your high horse, to me you're nothing but just the leading choice. Maybe Captain Vangeance would oust you in no time. Or maybe Alecdora?"

The noble's smile promptly faltered, daunting eyes replaced with a shadowed glare. "Why are you bringing this up now?"

"Well, who knows?" He answers vaguely, walking away. Smirking, he waves farewell at him. "Let me give you some advice: don't get too complacent just because she was interested in you in the past. Hearts change."

"Hearts... change?" Xerx says, voice dripping with sarcasm. It didn't go unnoticed by Solid, who stopped in his tracks. The noble laughed.

"Hearts change... is meaningless to hear from a heartless fool who did nothing but boast of his power and mistreat his little sister."

Solid's fist clenched.

"You don't know anything." The royal grits.

"Oh, but I do." Xerx replies, smiling. He isn't bothered by the growing tension, nor did he avoid testing the waters of the water mage's patience.

"Everyone does. The third Silva who abused and bullied his little sister. Oh, how shameful of a reputation that is."

Flaming blue mana appeared around Solid as the ground beneath them trembled. Mars appeared, putting a hand on the royal's shoulder.

"Is something the matter?"

The two eyes locked on each other- one enraged and one confused.

He breathed out. Calm down. Shrugging the hand off, Solid walked away and said nothing. Still very much confused, Mars just looked at the other person at the scene but he, too, was leaving.

Seeing the tuft of silver hair, Xerx calls out. "Nebra."

The woman looks up from the ground, surprised. "Xerx. What brings you here?"

"I brought you some water." He says curtly, handing her a cup. Thankful, she took it and drinks it slowly, letting out a sigh of relief when the cool liquid slid down her dry throat. Breathing out, she hands him the empty cup.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

Nebra covers a boulder with mist and sits, eyeing the man who didn't leave. After a beat, she speaks again. "Can I ask you something?"

Though curious, he nods. "Anything, my dear."

She doesn't show her reaction on the endearment and goes straight to the point. "Did the Head ask you to come here?"

"The Head?"

"Grandpa."

"Oh." He utters in realization. "Lord Silva? He may or may not have asked the Wizard King himself. I know nothing, aside from the fact that you were coming, too."

"So, you came because I did?" She asks, something akin to confused irritation bubbling up in her stomach.

"Yes." Xerx answers, still curious as to why they were exchanging words regarding the topic. Nebra lets out a loud "Ha!" and slaps her thigh in a delinquent fashion, shocking him livid.

_What. Was. That?_

She frowns, eyes narrowed. "For the last time, I told them that I didn't need a bodyguard!"

Xerx's lips parted at her outburst. A bodyguard? "Pardon? I see nothing wrong with wanting to make sure my fiance is okay."

"That's right. I'm your fiance, not some incapable child in need of babysitting. I don't need your security everywhere I go, Xerx. I'm strong and you know that, right?" She finishes, panting slightly. Her brows are furrowed, cheeks puffed out because of the heat and here she is, staring down her soon-to-be husband because of her demand for independence.

She knows she looks stupid, but stays by her facade.

After blinking rather many times, Xerx sighs. "Alright. But I am not going back to Clover Kingdom without you. Just tell me if you need anything, dear."

There he is with the _dear_ again. Nebra rolls her eyes. "Fine."

"Good." He says in finality, smiling as he stood up. He grabs the tray and turns around. "By the way, Nebra."

Pretending not to be shocked or relieved by the lack of the ridiculous pet name, she raises an eyebrow. "What?"

He looks back at her, blue eyes scanning her expression.

"You don't have any other man, do you?"

She doesn't know whether to laugh or scream at that.

_"Excuse me?"_

Xerx shakes his head. "Nothing. See you later, dear." Walking away, he gives her one last look before turning the corner. As soon as he was out of sight, her brows meet in suppressed anger as she grits her teeth.

"Damn that old head geezer. Bodyguards are redundant, he knows that." She mutters under her breath and starts to work again.

Zora silently walks away from the rubble, new information spinning in his head. It was to be expected. She was a royal. Of course.

So what was this weird feeling...?

He holds his chest, breathing coming in shallow, erratic gasps.

"Hey, are you okay?" Noelle quips upon seeing him approach the main site where they were working. Sitting down on the rubble, he rubs his temples.

_"Pardon? I see nothing wrong with wanting to make sure my fiance is okay."_

_"That's right. I'm your fiance, not some incapable child in need of babysitting."_

_"You don't have any other man, do you?"_

Squeezing his eyes shut, he wills his heart to _calm the fuck down_. When he opens them again, he is met with Noelle's concerned gaze.

Zora nods. "Yeah. I think I just ate too much."

Feeling suddenly tired, he stands up.

_What the hell is wrong with me?_

The royal scans him, brows furrowed. "I think you should get some rest to replenish mana."

Looking at her, Zora nods absent-mindedly. "Good idea."

Walking away from the crowd, he decides to look for a tree where he could just... sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...? *0*
> 
> That's all, but it's school break so I think I'll be back sooner. Adios and thanks!


	5. Missions and visions (end)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A dream. Peace. A fleeting thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> P.S. The summary ain't that rherorical, I just wanted to sound cool hohoho
> 
> Sorry for the chapter title once again :<
> 
> Also the update's early because I'm happy. I'm the top 1 for the school's quarter! *rejoices in mada mada*

As the sun begins to set, the Clover Knights were already at the meeting place, ready to be escorted back to the palace.

"Nom nom!" Charmy squeaks, shoving at her mouth strawberry after strawberry which Dorothy kept creating one after another with a beaming smile on her face.

Vanessa almost laughs but remembers that this was Charmy. "Captain Dorothy, Charmy might explode."

"No, I won't!" The bomb in question retorts, raising a chubby fist. "Keep 'em strawberries coming!"

Dorothy giggles. "Well, you heard her." She replies to the fellow witch, then looks back at the smaller, astonishingly gluttonous lady. "On it!"

"La!"

Making their way towards the banquet, the Silva woman wills herself to fight the drooping of her head. She is not going to let herself doze off hungry and unclean.

After eating a fair share of (bland, for her, but manageable) food from the table, Nebra formally excuses herself from the forming commotion as the Black Bulls, being the Black Bulls, started partying and creating a ruckus as if they were back at their own base. Which, she does not want to be part of.

Scanning herself in the mirror, she takes note of the dust in her cheeks. Her outfit of royal silk looked far from pristine, and she looked like she just wrangled with a monkey. She winces in disgust at her state, turning to look at the back of her dress in the same state.

_I went to dinner looking like this?_

The weird look Nozel gave her as they entered earlier finally made sense.

Groaning, she removes her garments and puts them in the basket. Wrapping a robe around her bare body, she is already in the bath when the door to the room opens.

The warm mist of the room kissed her skin. It calms her down, whisks away some of her stress and she found herself a bit eager to take a bath after all that tedious work. "I deserve a break. Yeah."

Removing the amber robe that covered her, she dips her foot to see if the water was hot but not so that it'd burn her skin.

"Passable. Hmm."

Smiling, she takes off the Silva clip adorning her braid and lets her locks loose. To relax back at the castle, she loved to start her bath nice, quiet and slow.

"You have a really nice body!"

Surprised, Nebra loses balance and falls in the water, face first.

So much for slow.

She hurriedly lifts her head, face stinging from its slam with the water and gives a chilling glare to the intruder.

Dorothy stood unperturbed, giving her a grin in return. Nebra sees that the Coral Peacocks Captain was also wearing only a robe, which meant that she was taking a bath here, too.

So much for quiet.

"Yo, Nebra Dearest! Mind if I swim with ya?"

After leaning against the stone wall of the bath, the Silva looks at her blankly, not having any intention of responding in glee. Her relaxation plan is in ruins, and the most she could do was to intimidate the captain enough to make her leave. But this was Dorothy Unsworth, one who had a seemingly unlimited bucket of patience that she even withstood Nozel Silva, so what's she even doing?

As expected, the witch jumps gracefully onto the water, paying no heed to her companion's irritation whatsoever. Letting out a contented sigh, Dorothy sinks under the water up to her chin and smiles at her. "So, Nebra dearie, how was your day?"

Totally not bothered. Internally sighing, she decides to respond out of respect. "Tiring."

"Oho? Guessed right! You were so dedicated at cleaning you made me proud."

She doesn't know what exactly to say at that, so she opts for the safest choice. "...thanks."

Smiling in return, Dorothy also leans onto the wall, a meter beside her. The witch's feet peek from under the water, and Nebra thinks that this 29 year old captain is more childish than she is.

Then again, when was she ever given the chance to act childish these days?

Not doing many things a common girl could do not because she didn't want to, but because she wasn't allowed to- that is a part of her character that made her... Nebra.

"We're roommates," she looks up as Dorothy speaks again, "and we're taking a bath together. Doesn't this seem like a sleepover?"

Nebra stills at the familiar yet foreign word. She had heard it a few times when Magic Knight ladies would gush about it with their friends, schedules and all she could do was listen and watch. A smile tugs at the corner of her lips as her chest warmed with unknown emotion.

"Yeah."

Dorothy's eyes caught the gesture and she flicks water in front of her happily, humming. A few minutes pass, and the captain is quiet. Nebra is so close to dozing off, she knew she shouldn't because she's in the bath and her skin will get all wrinkly, but she is only woken up at the ripples of water made when her companion squirmed in an impatient fashion.

Dorothy huffs. "This is so quiet! I wanna have fun!"

Nebra looks at her obscenely. _Can't she stay still for even a few minutes when she's awake?_

Before she could give out her opinion on how silence was the best treatment and relaxation was being at peace, she heard shouts from the rooms beside theirs. Girl shouts.

_"P-P-Purple?!"_

_"What is with this glitter-"_

_"I know the owner of-!"_

_"La?!"_

Nebra's instinctive reaction was to press her back against the wall, bringing her hands out to the air as mist suddenly surrounds them both, concealing their mana. A possibility of an intruder slips on her mind, and she grits her teeth to ready herself for any fight if necessary.

She hears a giggle. Dorothy was looking at her with an enthusiastic expression, waving a jolly hand in the cold air. "Calm down, Nebra dear!"

"What?" She asks, aghast. "Calm down? No, you pipe down. There's an enemy. Stay here." She reminds her sternly, temporarily forgetting their ranks at the level of respect she just gave the captain.

Instead, the captain stands up, bare body being blocked from sight by the mist. Nebra could only see her face, but could tell that she was planning something.

 _Something involving me,_ her mind provided as bright violet orbs met hers, a smile on the former's face. The expression spelled out one word: mischief.

"Let's have some fun!"

And Nebra is suddenly floating with the water around her as a sparkly purple light enveloped her. She immediately recognized the magic, as she had seen it once. Like that, she remembered the first shout she heard earlier and eyes wide, looks at Dorothy with an expression of mixed exhilaration and fear.

"No, you wouldn't-!"

"Oh, I would." Dorothy says with a giggle and the next thing the poor Silva realized, she was sucked and now falling towards a bright oblivion. Pink obscured her blurry sight as the water around her body jiggles as she fell, fell with nothing to catch her below except pink.

She grimaces, feeling betrayed. "And here I thought I was warming up to you...! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

A large puff of white cloud appears a few feet below her, and she saw it shift and take the shape of a giant bowl before her descent came to a halt in it, her body bouncing softly against the cotton. A light drizzle appeared as the water transported with her slams into the bowl-shaped entity, sending droplets all over whatever this place was.

Her head was spinning as she struggled to sit upright. Looking at the place, it was like a different dimension. Floating, gigantic teddy bears and teacups were seen, and she turns her head to the direction when she heard a door open.

*THUNK!*

The other girls from the Clover Kingdom with them were also transported without notice, now a messy tangle of limbs if it wasn't for Charlotte's briars giving each other space. The ladies except Vanessa, Noelle and Charmy looked bewildered at the place. A giant chair pops above them, and within a confetti of glitter appears Dorothy, all dressed. She grins.

"Welcome.. to Dream World!"

And it was clearly like a dream- so beautiful, bright, and so... Dorothy-ish.

Noelle was the first to ask what everyone was thinking. "Uhm, why did you bring us here?"

"Yes, Dorothy." The Blue Rose Captain pipes up, just as confused. She gestures to herself in a nightgown. "I was about to get ready for bed. What are we going to do here?"

"What are we going to do here?" The other witch drawls, putting a finger on her chin. She lights up, hitting her palm with her fist. "Of course we're gonna have fun!"

"Have fun without me, can you please take me back?"

Several heads turn to look at the direction where the voice came from. Eyes widened at the sight of a standing Nebra Silva, arms crossed and eyebrows knitted in irritation.

Dorothy gasps. "Ara, Nebra dear!"

"Please don't 'Nebra dear' me, Captain Dorothy." She snaps impatiently, not registering that all of them were gawking at her because she has more things to do than mess here with them. "I demand to be put-"

In an attempt to roll her eyes, they accidentally drift downward, taking in the reality of her still-naked state. As consolation, her mist luckily obscured the upper and lower parts but her stomach, legs, and bare back were all exposed to lots of people and she has never experienced that before. All heat rises to her face and she, to no one's obvious surprise, screams uncharacteristically.

"AAAAAHHHH!"

Noelle runs towards her in concern. "Big Sis!"

The sister sinks her whole body back in the water, willing the cold liquid to just wash her away from this embarrassing event.

She puts her head between her closed knees in an attempt to hide her face. _I have never been this humiliated before._ She sighs dejectedly, not caring about the person currently shaking her bare shoulders.

"Big Sis, snap out of it!"

Back at the crowd of women at a distance, Vanessa whistles.

"I think I just saw abs."

Grey nods, feeling a bit embarrassed for the royal Noelle was consoling. "M-M-Maybe she works o-out a l-l-lot?"

 _Big Sis is beautiful, Big Sis is beautiful._ Sol thinks, eyes closed as she repeated it over and over like a mantra.

Charlotte looks mildly amused, never pegging the other Silva girl to be such a hardworker herself. _Well, considering the almost unreachable standards of their brother himself, can't say I'm surprised._

Dorothy has the decency to look amused, a grin still plastered on her cute little face. "Nebra dear, don't be embarrassed! We're all girls here!"

She didn't say that she had planned to let them get a glimpse of the royal's unexpectedly toned body so she wouldn't be the only one admiring it.

Nebra looks up slowly, narrowed eyes meeting that of the only Coral Peacock in the room. Sighing, she looks at Noelle and raises a hand, signaling that she's fine. Already recomposing herself, she stands up, this time with her mist covering her whole body. Her eyes never left Dorothy, and she sighs again.

"Can I have some clothes?"

The pink witch gleefully nods at her request, snapping her fingers. "Sure!"

And Nebra finds herself floating again, enveloped in not-so-strange pink clouds. She is honestly relieved when she feels the familiar texture of clothes that appeared from thin air wrap themselves around her skin. She floats back down, and the light dissipates.

"Uhh..."

She starts, gesturing at herself and the clothes on her body. Weird clothes.

"What is this?"

A buttoned, round-necked piece of cloth covered her upper body, with loose sleeves that stretched up to her wrists. Covering her legs were loose, soft pants. Comfortable. And foreign.

The violet-haired woman giggles. "Why, those are pyjamas, of course!"

"Pyjamas..." she says the name, skeptical. "...thanks."

"You're welcome! Now... ta-da!"

All of the other girls were suddenly enveloped in the same pink clouds that smothered her earlier.

Noelle tries to whisk the clouds away to look, feeling her clothes dissipate. "What is happening?"

"We're gonna have a sleepover!" Dorothy says, putting the same clouds over her body.

The clouds suddenly pop into a pool of bright light, and they see themselves also dressed in the same thing Nebra was.

"Hmm." Charlotte hums, scrutinizing the fabric. "This is actually pretty comfortable."

"I know, right?"

"Can I still have some apples here, la?" Charmy asks, stretching the sleeves that were too long for her short, dwarf arms. Dorothy nods.

"Of course!"

"Hey captain Dorothy." Vanessa speaks up, making the fellow witch turn to her next. "Can I have some wine?"

"Right here!"

"Oh, captain-"

Nebra looks at the crowd before her, seemingly nonchalant now about the fact that they were kidnapped and sent into another dimension with no means of going out. A humongous, fluffy bed, as large as a royal dining room suddenly appears above them, and large butterflies latched on their shoulders and flew.

"Eep!"

"...why am I not surprised."

"This butterfly looks yummy."

The large insects dropped them onto the cushions, and the owner of the dimension followed suit, landing in a cannonball that made the foams dip in her landing. The Black Bulls laughed.

"Now, ain't this great?"

She sits awkwardly, a meter away from their round chatter. It is the first time she's even been here, let alone in a sleepover, so she's fearful that her presence might ruin their mood.

Grey, being shy and fidgety as she was, first noticed her distance. She nudged at Noelle. "Noelle, y-your sister..."

The young royal's eyes locked on her sister, who was indeed distancing herself awkwardly. Crawling towards her space, she stops in front of her.

"Big Sis, let's go there!"

Nebra looks taken aback by the invitation. "But- uhh... I don't really know-"

"Nebra dearie!" Dorothy calls from the crowd, making the same crowd look at them. Noelle moves back to their position, leaving her there. The mist user wanted to fold into herself, seeing as they just saw her again in a shameful, awkward state.

_As if that_ _clotheless_ _stunt earlier wasn't enough to ruin my image...! Mou!_

She wills herself to look up, convinced that Dorothy was clearly expecting a response.

What greeted her was the girls smiling, all in a circle. At the part of a circle in front of her was a space.

She released a breath she didn't know she was holding. At her clueless expression, Noelle and Vanessa grabbed each of her hands and pulled her in.

"Wait- oof!"

"Now she's in the pyjama circle!" Dorothy exclaims, and the girls laugh in agreement. Nebra sits up straight, cheeks beginning to puff in warmth.

She smiles softly. "Thanks."

Maybe these... occurences aren't so bad once in a while.

Charlotte and Dorothy found themselves smiling. The usually stoic blonde finally relents to the ruckus, knowing that the Lady Silva must have had a hard life and deserves what she also wanted- a break.

"So, what 'fun' do you have in store for us, Dorothy?"

"I'm glad you asked!"  
_

The men walk back towards their rooms after a strategy meeting with Fanzell and Mars. Asta's head droops many times as he walked, and no one made an effort to stop Luck as he drew pictures on the poor anti-magic boy's face.

"Wait."

The sharp tone of Yami catches everyone except Nozel off guard. Asta jolts, awake.

"What is it, Captain-"

His eyes widened, frantically looking back and forth at the doors of the ladies' rooms. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face in fear.

"I can't feel any of their ki!"

The other men are sent into mild panic, with Kirsch opting to open one to look. Enraged, Yami unsheathed his katana.

"Stop it, foreigner." Nozel says blankly, locking steel eyes with that of angry ones. He points at the door beside him, and Yami feels the lingering mana of someone as troublesome as he is.

Nozel raises an eyebrow, confirming if he felt it. He nods, putting his sword back.

"They're fine."

The next morning, Nebra wakes up tangled in the sheets of the castle's room.

Glancing at the bed by the door, she sees that it was already neat and folded. Captain Dorothy must've woken up early.

She still finds it weird to associate the Coral Peacocks Captain with the term 'waking up'.

Rubbing her eyes, she lets her bare legs dangle on the side of the bed.

"What-"

She hurriedly covers her mouth as to not let any form of distressed scream escape her lips. She is utterly naked, which explains the number of blankets draped on her cushions.

"The pyjamas disappeared when I left the Dream World, huh..."

Well, she _was_ naked when she was brought away so it made sense that she's still naked when she's brought back.

Wrapping a long blanket on her body, she lets herself smile when she remembers what transpired last night with the girls. Now she knew what a sleepover felt like.

_N-Not like it was in my bucket list or anything!_

Sighing at her own conflict, she saw a basket by the closed door. Peeking, it was her clothes. She raises an eyebrow. "A note?" And she flips it open.

_Nebra_ _dearie!_

_The maid brought your washed clothes here. Sorry for kidnapping ya last night! Breakfast is at 8. See ya~_

She looks at the clock.

7:30.

As she put on her clothes, Nebra contemplates whether to keep the note or not.

Stepping outside, she is met with the chilly hallway air. From there, she could already hear chaos coming from the kitchen. Seems like the Black Bulls woke up early too.

Going in the dining hall after minutes of searching and entering the wrong rooms because she was still groggy, Nebra mumbles a curt good morning to Nozel and Solid before sitting beside them. The plates were served and Nebra bites her lower lip to hide her hunger- chicken.

"How was your night, Nebra?"

She drops the fork and the two younger siblings look at the eldest in alert and shock, because that was a first.

If Nozel was taken aback by their reactions, he did not show it. _Did I say something wrong...?_

Nebra's eyes were still wider than usual, her senses now completely awake. _Does he know...?_

"Oi," Solid whispers, "you're taking too long to answer."

Clearing her throat, she carefully picks up the fork and replies with a small smile. "It was fun."

Nozel hums, and they continue eating.

Pretty soon, the Clover Knights were called to line up.

"Huh?" Nebra quips, eyebrows furrowed as she scanned the crowd. "Where's Xerx?"

"He was summoned back last night for another long term mission at Tiulyu."

"The borders?" She asks, confused.

Nozel nods, eyes never leaving the gates. "The borders."

She heaves out a breath, because _peace_.

Solid grins maniacally, elbowing his sister who looked a bit too relaxed at the news. "Aren't ya glad, Sis? Now your marriage with that bastard's once again postponed for at least a few months."

"That right? Zip it, Solid."

And another uneventful day of working ensues. The only thing that stood out to Nebra was when she almost collapsed because the mana-sucking Legolant went out of the base, which was near her at that moment. Apparently, he didn't notice her.

After that, she could tell that he was apologizing intently, judging by the distressed expression on his face and the occasional bowing every twenty seconds. His apology was too slow to even comprehend, though, so she says that it was just an accident no one needs to apologize for and gets back to work. Through the erected glass barrier between them, no one sees Henry smile at the retreating royal figure.

"Big Sis," Noelle calls, just as they were about to lift a big piece of wood from a demolished house. Turning to her, Nebra replies.

"Hmm?"

"You've mellowed out." She says, smiling. "In a good way."

It felt like her tongue got tangled in her mouth because she finds herself unable to speak at that. Her mouth opened, and closed once more. She could count on one hand the honest compliments she ever received ever since she became a magic knight and every one of it was written on her heart. Looking away, she pouts at nothing in particular and huffs.

"We got work to do. Come on."

Noelle stifles a giggle. "Alright."

_

 _The day is done and they are going home_ , Zora's mind cheers. Working alone wasn't such a bad idea, as he got a lot more peace than he could whenever he's around the Bulls. Or anyone, in particular.

He scratches the back of his head. "I'm sleepy."

"When weren't you?" Asta butts in, completely confused by the redhead's lack of commitment in their last duties at Diamond. Zora looks at the side. _I don't wanna answer this shrimp._

"We're going home, guys!" Yami announces, making his squad rejoice. The base does its thing again, shifting into a gigantic bull. He sees Nero perch herself on top of the base's head and squints. Did she even work?

"Since Finral's too much of a weak dumbass to just teleport us home-"

"-I'm tired, Gauche! And I have superiority!"

"-we're gonna ride for hours again. This sucks."

"Get... in!" Henry announces, and a ladder stretches itself down from the base door. Being at the end of the line, he just watched as several of their companions made their way up. He sees Kirsch refusing to step on the concrete, using his stupid flower petals to elevate himself in a stupid fashion, which, he thought, would make Mimosa barf in disgust if she was here.

The royal figures clad in white were next, and Zora sees her again.

_I haven't seen her ever since I eavesdropped at their conversation._

He puts a hand on his chest. Breathe in. Out. In. Out. I-

"Are you sure you're okay?" Noelle suddenly asks, looking at him with brows furrowed. The ash trap user blinks, not expecting the young royal to notice his state of "exhaustion" for the second time.

"I'm fine."

He says that as he turns, eyes avoiding to look at any white-haired species around him. Noelle is still very much confused, but leaves him to his own devices to probably lecture Asta.

 _Stop_ , he says to his mind. _Stop thinking about her. You have no right to think about her, you peasant. Just_ -

"Ugh." He mutters, annoyed at himself for making this harder than it should be. Eyebrows met looking like they were going to merge into one, a frown forms on his lips as unwarranted memories flash on his mind.

She fell. She kissed you. She fell.

 _Shut up,_ he thinks as he held his hair, _shut the hell up._

She looks at you. She injured you. She looks at you.

He wants to remove this accursed mind for letting him remember that she, in fact, injured him but he was still _happy_ about that. _What the hell?_

Shaking his head, he hopes the dizziness would make all thoughts of the clearly unreachable girl scram.

It didn't.

Seriously, I think I need to consult someone about this.

 _But who?_ His mind asks.

_Yami?_

He looks at the said captain, who looked bored out of his wits waiting for Nozel who was still talking to Fanzell.

No, that one's denser than a brick.

_The shrimp?_

His eyes drifted to Asta, who hollers as he took sit-ups rapidly. "WROAAAAAAGHHH MADA MADAAA!"

Yeah, no.

_How about Noelle?_

Zora frowns, eyes looking at the side in contemplation. Asking her about that was clearly fishy, as he was indirectly telling her about the confused... feelings, ew, that he's been having about her relative. She's not dumb, he knows she'll connect the dots immediately the second another secret slips out of his damn mouth.

He purses his lips. The other person he actually wanted to get advice from was Captain Mereoleona. _But she'll incinerate me on the spot once she hears the genre._

Groaning, he runs a hand through his red hair, messing it up in frustration. It was no use thinking about that now.

_

But he was still thinking about it, a few hours later as he walked alone on the streets of the capital's market. People, life and lights buzz around, and Zora closed his eyes many times for the setting was too bright in contrast to the gloom he's under because of his confusing emotions.

He groans. "Feh, to hell with it. I'm just not gonna tell anyone."

And it was final. He's not going to tell anyone because there is no one to talk to about that.

He continues to walk absent-mindedly, hand on his chin that he doesn't notice someone going to bump into him.

"...ow." the stranger, a female, says in a pained tone. He squints, for this person, who was weirdly wrapped in a large black cloak up to the head even though it was night, seems like she was in a hurry and he kinda ruined that.

"Whoops." He states, putting a hand up in the air. "Sorry 'bout that."

The stranger looks up, and all muscles in his body tense. Staring back at him were those damn violet eyes he's been trying all day to stop thinking about.

He muffles a cough at the back of his hand, the same time the not-so-stranger finally realized who she just bumped into based on her surprised expression.

"What a coincidence. What's a royal like you doing in commoner ground, bubble bath?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Petit Clover:
> 
> "Thank you for cheering her up, Dorothy."
> 
> "Anything for you, my eagle bro!"
> 
> "Your what."
> 
> _
> 
> I finished it earlier than expected. Welp, back to schoolwork-


	6. Breathe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All he could do now is yearn from afar, and is doomed with the fact that his heart is not even denying his greatest fear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I updated early. The ideas are really doing a great job of pesterin' me, though I don't mind (HAHAHAHA). 
> 
> The event was supposed to be longer, but the word count far exceeded my limit so I halved it. Enjoy!

_"I figured that she is just weak these days."_

A few hours after they all went back to the Clover Kingdom, Nebra halts in her steps, glancing at the door at the side. From the captain's office. Where she heard the cold voice of her brother calling someone poorly.

_Not that I'm surprised, but still._

She creeps towards that direction and pressed her back towards the wall, seemingly a nonchalant bystander when in truth, she is looking side to side to watch and avoid anyone from seeing her peeping on a private conversation.

_"They need a powerful one, Captain. The guest is from the Heart Kingdom's farmers. The queen thought that someone might steal the knowledge of the magical runes by force if left unguarded. They asked from the Silver Eagles, since your little sister probably spoke highly of you when they were training back there."_

Nebra's eyebrows knit at the conversation. She cannot fully grasp what it was they're arguing about. Heart Kingdom? Training?

Noelle.

But that was not what bugs her.

'She's weak'?

Was Nozel talking about _Noelle_?

She is once again confused, as Noelle has proven herself worthy of even his acknowledgement because of her hard work and new found strength. Big Brother wouldn't really call her that, as her present state cannot be defined anymore as 'weak'.

"Hn." It was Nozel, and she could make out his face when he was in deep thought. "I see. In short, they want a royal. From the Silver Eagles."

"That probably sums it up, Captain Nozel."

"So, Solid or Nebra." She stiffens at the sound of her own name being uttered, finally getting the concept of their conversation. A high-rank mission that required someone strong. A choice between her and Solid.

 _"I think,"_ the vice-captain (Haidi, was it?) started suggestively, _"that Lady Nebra is the better choice, Captain."_

The royal outside smiles.

 _Bingo_.

Remind her to give something to the vice-captain later.

 _"And why is that?"_ Nozel's sharp voice punctuates the tense air inside, and the proud atmosphere around Nebra shatters like brittle glass. Her smile drops. _Is Big Brother doubting me?_

 _"B-Because, Captain,"_ Haidi's tone became afraid now, subjected to the intimidating gaze of her superior, _"Lady Nebra seems more level-headed."_

Nodding vigorously, Nebra tries to pump herself up. _I am level-headed! A fit for the mission! So why is Big Brother having second thoughts?_

A sigh. _"Like I said, Nebra's been weak for the past few days."_

_"But captain-"_

Something seems to be cut off inside her head.

'She's weak.'

_He was talking about me?_

Nebra stared at her hands blankly.

_I'm weak?_

The vice-captain seems unconvinced, still trying to persuade Nozel about the uncertainties, and partly to probably defend the lady royal's honor. Having heard enough, Nebra quietly walks away from the closed doors.

On the other side, Nozel glances briefly at the light seeping from outside, noticing that the fluctuations have ceased. After a minute of listeming to the noble vice's rant he raises a hand, silencing the member in front of him.

"Worry not, I have already included Nebra in the list."

Haidi stops. "C-Come again?"

"I've put her already." He says with sincerity, and she internally groans. What was the point of the whole argument, then?!

"It's just..." she snaps out of her reverie when her captain speaks again, this time with a voice laced with foreign uncertainty, uncharacteristic for someone as calm as him. His usually flat eyebrows were almost touching, and the calm mask was reduced by a span. She guesses that it was a rather... problematic situation when Nozel breathes deeply.

"It's the guide the Wizard King chose for her that I'm worried about."

Oh.

_

I know that I'm not weak.

She shakes her head vigorously, grabbing a black cloak from the very bottom of her dresser (which she didn't know she had until she rummaged to lessen her heavy chest) and hastily puts it over her body for comfort because she suddenly felt cold.

As she sat down on her clandestine chair, the words still kept replaying on her mind. She breathed out. "Tune it out, tune it out..."

'She's weak.'

'She's weak.'

'She's weak.'

It plays like an endless mantra in her head, rattling her whole state and a stupid voice decided to add.

_You're weak._

"I'm not!" She hissed to herself like a madwoman, snapping at her own thoughts. "I'm... not weak."

_Then what?_

"They're... just strong."

The voice in her head laughs, mocking her. It is relentless, doesn't stop until it drags her down again to the depths of inferiority. _If they're just... strong, and you're not, then what does that make you?_

A slap.

She grits her teeth, shaking her head again until she got dizzy. "Why do I have to listen to you, anyway? Wait a minute, why am I even talking to myself? Tch, crazy crazy, stupid Nebra. Stupid."

She hears a knock from the other side. Her room door opened, and she sees Solid in his night clothes, confusion on his face as he looks around. "Uh, who were you talking to?"

She looks at him blankly and stands without a word. "No one."

"Uhm, okay?"

"Okay." Nebra puts the cloak around her body. "Now scram. I'm going out." She walked out of the doors and left him there, looking straight ahead at the corridors. Recovering from her sudden declaration for the night, he peeked his head out from the door and chased after her. "Wait! Does Big Brother know you're going out? It's night time already."

She looked at him, eyes now void of any emotion that made Solid falter in his step. "I'm a grown woman. I can take care of myself."

And she leaves, walking towards the front door unnoticed. Solid could only gape at her, as she had used that well-known Silva persona against _him_ , of all people.

He slapped a hand over his forehead. _I have a mission tomorrow, I can't stay up late._

He just hoped that his sister can sneak back in later unscathed.

* * *

-Half an hour later-

"What a coincidence. What's a royal like you doing at commoner ground, bubble bath?"

A few seconds pass, and it seems like she still has no means of responding to him, based on her slack jaw. He's feeling a little awkward under her gaze, but it doesn't show because he's supposed to be the taunting one here.

She must've noticed the unanswered question, because she pulled her hood even more to cover her face. "Strolling." She mumbled.

His eyes narrowed curiously. "Strolling? Within commoners? A royal?"

Nebra is getting a little annoyed with his emphasis of 'royal' in his every sentence. What's wrong with being a royal?! "What of it? It's completely fine."

Just a few hours ago he dreaded co-existing in the same place as a silver-haired entity with violet eyes, but now he found himself staring at the same eyes without even a hint of embarrassment. "Fine is kind of weird, princess. Do you even know how to navigate yourself around here? Knowing you, you might have just passed here using your own magic because you're too high-profile to walk through."

It was a royal he was talking to. Someone who could easily snap his spine in two if she wanted to. But right now, all he could focus on was this person, who was clearly standing out even if that wasn't the goal, far from it actually. _I mean, who wears a black cloak at night, walking among herds of people under the light?_ _They might mistake her for a cult member and things might get ugly, because_

This girl has no concept of blending in among crowds whatsoever.

She was probably used to being immediately recognized because of her hair. People would clearly steer away and make a commotion if they saw a royal here, so covering it up was a choice she had to make.

The said woman frowned. "Of course I know where I am!" She says to his face, challenged by his proclamation about her horrible sense of direction. "This town is-" her eyes rake the surroundings, and she, to her horror, saw nothing familiar. Stalls, people, lights she can't seem to remember.

Just where in the bloody world did she absent-mindedly take herself?

Zora snickers at her lost expression. "Guess you're not much of a remembering type, aren't ya?"

 _Since you also forgot what happened between us days ago,_ was left unsaid.

He inwardly winced. How dare his mind make it sound more lewd than it is.

She stares right back at him, expression torn between dumbfounded and annoyed. As much (not that much, to her fear) as she wanted to just get away (why did that leave a bitter taste in her mouth) from him, there's not much of a difference in painstaking if she got lost in the process.

Nebra sighs. "Fine. I'm looking for a place."

"A place?" Zora asked, arms crossed. "You have a target to kill or something?"

"No, you idiot!" She blurted, rolling her eyes because he just mistook her reason for an assassination attempt. "A breather. I just want to get away for a while."

Now that had him amused. Zora grins. "Oh? Princess Misty has royal problems? What could it be? Don't worry, I can be your tour guide."

Teeth gritted, her head snaps towards his direction as she sent a menacing glare his way. _He thinks he can just talk to me that way? Well let him have it!_ "What is your problem?! I know you hate royalty, but you've been putting too much 'royal' in your statements, and it is clearly annoying. If you're just going to insult me, then I'm going- wait. What did you say?"

"I said," a smile, "that I'm willing to be your tour guide."

Nebra stills, dumbstruck once more. "Pardon?"

"Pardon granted, pardon over." He said, patting her head once before walking it off. "A breather? Follow me."

"Are you serious?" She asks him again, doubtful. He can't really blame her, but really, he was being sincere. He looked back at her. "I don't usually do things like this, but you look like you really needed some fresh air, so meh."

 _He's going out of his way to help_ me? She purses her lips, briefly glancing at the Black Bull nonchalantly walking beside her. The man who, by some twist of fate, was always crossing paths with her at the situations where she was most vulnerable, like he was destined to discover how weak she really was.

Zora Ideale was just supposedly a pebble in her yard, but his existence supposedly made itself known to her, and she's not one to really care for people.

Besides, she figured that he definitely iked to piss her off, or anyone for that matter. Just earlier, he was thinning her already thin patience with dangerous words and insults that surely got to her. Not to mention that this guy hates nobility with all his guts, especially royalty who he deemed as lazy and unworthy.

So why was he helping _her_ , a _royal_ , take a breath of air?

_What is with this man?_

* * *

_She's been silent for a while now_ , he noted, glancing from the side of his eye at the straight-laced woman walking beside him, expression so damn serious she looks like she's about to go to war.

His mind groans. No more wars, please.

As few minutes pass, he becomes tense. The fact that this woman is not just... any other he could easily shrug off was weighing down on his chest. It's almost impossible to keep a straight face around her, as she probably doesn't remember a bloody thing about her uncalled advance in the past that's been the reason for many of his sleepless nights. On top of that, the silence is becoming unbearable. Stifling, even. Zora resists the urge to tug at the collar of his shirt so she wouldn't see that he was actually _nervous._

_Ah wait, I 'm not wearing a shirt._

Curse the pressure for making him forget even his own state of dress. Every little thing was getting into him like needles, and he doesn't know if it was because of his hyper awareness, or that he is aware of this being beside him that's been sending his heart and soul into turmoil.

 _Heart and soul_? Now that's just gross.

He is suddenly stopped in his tracks and thought as he feels a slight pinch, a tug on her arm. He looks at the right to see her, eyes all steely serious but the light blush in her face she thought he doesn't notice says otherwise.

Nebra deadpans. "I'm hungry."

Zora stares at her dumbly. Her words sink in. Then he snorts, waving a hand playfully in the air between them.

"Hi, Hungry. I'm Zora."

It was her turn to stare. Well, in her case, it was a death glare. She unknowingly puts a hand on her aching stomach, as she hadn't eaten anything ever since they came back from Diamond. Here she is, lowering her pride to admit such a low-class emergency for a Magic Knight. And Zora freaking Ideale had the audacity to just laugh at her.

Her eyes narrow. "I'm serious."

"You're not Serious, you're Hungry."

She feels her teeth grit from behind her closed lips. "You think you're funny?" She hissed.

He tilts his head in an attempt to look innocent. "I'm not Funny, I'm Zora."

He is really committing himself into playing dumb. Might as well starve than ask an insensitive idiot like him. If they weren't in a public place she was sure she would've injured him already. She sighs. "You're funny in the head. And nevermind, why'd I even say that to a loose screw like you? Forget you heard anything, and farewell."

Nebra started to walk away, fists clenched beneath her cloak. She feels a presence follow her from behind, and rolls her eyes again. "What? I said farewell already, did you not hear?"

It took her a second to realize that the small laughs she was hearing, were indeed coming from Zora again. The Black Bull knew he wasn't going to leave a clueless lady in the rustle of the city. He still knows some manners, even after being alone for a long time. "Alright Serious, what do you want to eat?"

Once again, she halted in her steps. Her violet eyes scan his face intently, searching for any intent behind his words. "What?" He asks.

"How am I sure you're not going to turn it into a joke again?"

Zora shrugs. "I'm not. Hunger and women are a dangerous combination, the Bulls would know it first hand."

It took a minute for her to process his words. "Oh. Miss Pappitson, was it? I did hear from Noelle that she has a rather... interesting appetite."

"Ate every piece of food in the Heart Kingdom and threw a fit." Zora chimes, a bit incredulous, "And that's why I vowed to not let women starve." He nodded, reaching for his pocket. "A bit of a heads up, princess. I can't afford classy meals like steak or whatchamacallit stew right now, because peasants don't have much money."

Her stomach chose that time to embarrass her deeply by emitting a guttural sound, which made her insides churn and the man in front of her smirk. Pursing her lips, Nebra looks around, anywhere at anything just to avoid his gaze. "Anything is fine. Besides, I have always wanted to try something new."

His eyebrow raised, this woman has been giving him surprises ever since he met her. Grinning, he raked his hand, pointing at the stalls of food in front of them. "Well then, if you want something new, here's food from the streets, princess. Choose."

Nebra fidgets with the hem of her hood. "Uhh, sure. Give me a second." She walked towards one stall selling what seemed to be candy... bananas? She blinked at the foreign food laid out before her. This was a first, mingling with the common folk outside of ceremonies and obligatory missions. Her past self wouldn't have allowed of this, but here she is, choosing what to eat in the middle of the crowded street when she should already be tucked under the comfort of her bed.

In a way, she was thrilled.

Ever since, she knew she had to come to terms with the people who looked up to the royal family if they wanted them to still trust the royalty enough to protect them. Except for that hooligan of a king. Even Nebra finds him very unpleasant, and just being Solid Silva's sister was a big enough feat as it is.

As her mother Acier would always say, the only way to understand people was to put yourself in their shoes. And in her case, her time of getting to know the life of commoners weaker than herself has come.

The unknown factor that little her never anticipated, however, was Zora Ideale.

Currently standing a few feet behind her, she could feel the gaze he directed at her while she looked around. She bit her lip. _He is just concerned for my well-being, as I cannot navigate myself through this town without getting lost. Nothing more._

"Does anyone want some grilled purple snakes that I caught on the side of the road?"

Her attention is caught by that. She looks to the left, and sees a smiling old lady behind a stall. Something seems to be drawing her near there, as she approached it. Zora followed suit, looked at the menu she chose, and winced. "Oi oi, you sure about that princess?" He asks, giving her twenty yuls.

Nebra nods skeptically but determined, accepting the change from Zora. "It's fine. But I never knew snakes were edible."

"They're called exotic, dearie." The old lady comments as she started to re-grill one. Nebra watched as the flames licked the reptile's coiled body, producing an aroma similar to that of roast duck that Nozel liked.

Nozel.

She bit the side of her mouth. The whole point of her sneaking out was to cool her head off because of him, and thinking about what she heard right now, in a public place, was not going to do her any good.

"I must say," the old lady speaks again, handing her the stick with the now grilled snake, "that it's very unusual to see you here, dear."

Nebra was about to take a bite but she stops at the lady's words, baffled. "Excuse me, but do you know me? Do I know you?"

"Well, yes and no. But is important, though?" She exclaims, and the royal was about to say yes it was because something that vague is one of her dislikes but the old hag is practically shooing her. "Now off you go. Look, your boyfriend's waiting for ya."

Her face heats up, eyes widening in alarm. She hisses. "P-Pardon, but my _what_?"

"Whatever you want him to be, but I can feel you aren't against what I said, dearie." The old woman jabs, and her poor face felt like it was doused in Salamander's Breath. She's certain she seemed like a love-stricken fifteen year old, and was too flustered to even snap at the old hag for teasing her like she was some sort of inexperienced kid.

"Oi, princess misty! You coming or what?"

She turns her head to the source, and sees Zora, now a broom in hand. Hastily, she took a bite out of the grilled snake on a stick. First contact on her tongue and the foreign taste made her wince, much to the old lady's amusement.

"You get used to it." She says, convincing. "Now off ya go."

What a weird old lady. Nebra doesn't look back at the stall as she walked towards her companion of sorts. With another bite, the stick was empty, save for a few burnt residues.

"So, where are we going?" She asked flatly. Her question seemed to snap him out of his thoughts, as he shook his head and got on his broom. He looks at her. She looks back at him like he's suddenly grown a five meter beard.

"Uh, I don't have a broom."

"I know, bubble bath." Zora said, averting his eyes as he looks forward, suddenly finding the brick wall in front of them interesting. "Get on."

Her throat suddenly felt clogged. As far as she knew, it has been a while since she rode on a broom. She might fall, or get scared. The last person she'd want to see her get scared was him.

She clears her throat. "I can fly with my mist."

"Yeah and you _will_ fly home once somebody recognizes you and calls Braidman." He responds, grinning because he knows what he said is reasonable. Nebra bit her bottom lip, weighing the odds between an awkward ride or humiliating detention.

"Besides," he said, and she looks up at him again as he was now floating, "what happened to being covert?"

_Oh, please. If I didn't know any better I'd say that this guy just wants to spend time with me._

But it's not like he saw her that way. And it's... not like she cared that he didn't.

"Fine." She relented, easing herself on the space behind him. She fumbles a bit at the small seating capacity, and the Black Bull notices this.

"Sitting like a lady is hard on a broom, madam. Might want to copy me." He said, gesturing to the way he was seated facing forward. She huffs, holding the sides of her cloak and dress underneath.

"Oh, fine. Turn around." She says and fortunately, he doesn't ask anymore and does just that. She had no problem lifting her right leg towards the other side of the broom, and she folds her arms on the space between them, first making sure that her hood is intact.

"I'm set." She informs him, and the broom goes up slowly. Was it just her imagination or did she hear him snicker?

Before she could ask him what was so funny, the broom has zoomed with an alarming speed that made her yelp, clutching onto the nearest thing for dear life.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" She screamed, unawarely pressing her frightened state against his back. Thank goodness they were at the sky now so no one heard her curse but _this man was going to kill her._

_And I am going to kill him._

"Misty." she looks up at Zora, and he is facing forward, cheeks dusted a bit from the cold air. "It's alright, calm down."

And alright it was. While she was so busy being a scaredy cat, he lessened the speed of the broom so that they were slowly gliding past the night sky. Her eyes look down, and they widen at the sight of the lights below them, shining like fallen stars.

The common town... was this beautiful?

Zora just watched in amusement from the corner of his eye as she made an act of raising her hand to catch a star, but to no avail. Her expression screamed awe. He couldn't stop the unknown sense of pride bubbling warmth in his chest because of her reactions. He smiles. She sees him. She smiles back.

"You've never had a chance to ride this slow, haven't you?" He asked her, looking at the sides of black. She nodded, removing her already half-blown hood to let her hair sway freely.

"Night departures are the only chances I get, and even then I don't get the chance to observe... all this." She gestured to the air, eyes still filled with wonder at the sights she never would've seen if she didn't sneak away. And if she hadn't bumped into him.

He breathed out a small laugh. "I could see that happening."

Her sight caught on the misshapen Black Bulls base meters below them, and she concluded that they were now far away. She glances at him briefly before looking again at the side. "Where are you taking me?"

"A breather, princess." He replies curtly, and the broom starts to decrease speed as they descend to wherever Nebra doesn't know. "You said you wanted to get away, right? This is away."

Her feet hit the solid, grassy ground. Slowly getting off the broom, she had just realized that she was holding onto him the entire time, and her face heated furiously and mana fluctuated the air around them. At his questioning gaze, Nebra wills herself to calm down and shook her head. Zora gestures for her to follow him, and much to her chagrin at her lack of doubt with this man, she did. They plunge themselves in a forest.

"Hey, Ideale." She calls out, muttering a soft 'ow' when a branch latched itself on her hair. She struggles a bit to keep up, as she was not much used to forests. "What part of this is a _breath of fresh air?"_

He looks back, grinning. "We're not there yet, princess. Stop dawdling."

A tick mark appears on her forehead. "I hope you're not trying to isolate us so you can kill me off secretly, because I will snap you in half."

Pushing a particularly long branch out of the way, Zora chokes out a laugh because _what kind of childhood did this woman have to have that kind of distrust?_ "Easy with the threats, I'm not stupid enough to assault a royal spider willy nilly. Besides, we're here."

"What the stick did you just call me?!" She bellows, irritation bubbling up in her stomach. "The disrespect tonight is on a whole other-"

Her eyes land on where they were. "-level."

Nebra's litany stops. Once more, she is awestruck at the sight before her. A grassland stretches out as far as her eye can see, up to the mountains. The moon illuminates the whole field, with the calm wind swaying the green solemnly.

Spotting a large rock at the part of field near where they came from, she sat down, not minding the coldness to the touch of the earthly boulder and looks up at the moon. Heaven seems helpful with her predicament, as the wisps of cloud parted, giving her a better view.

Nebra gasps in wonder. "This is better than baths."

"Feh." She heard him snicker, and turns around to see him leaning against the tree a few meters from her, watching her from a distance. "Calmed down yet?"

She shook her head, immersed in the cosmos in a way she has never been before. "Give me a few minutes."

Zora looks down, suppressing an unknown tug on the lips. After he felt like he wouldn't smile again at the moment, he looks up. "Say when you're done."

The whistling wind soothes them both, kissing their clothed bodies and giving them calm. She feels herself calming down, heart getting light with ease. The doubtful sentence of Nozel that hurt her earlier seemed like a distant memory. Her eyes crinkle.

"Thank you for taking me here."

He is taken aback, but she doesn't see the way he jolts because she is still immersed with the beauty in the dark.

The moon is like her. Under all that snark, he has come to know her as a remarkable woman. Blinding, celestial, powerful, unreachable.

All he could do now is yearn from afar, and is doomed with the fact that his heart is not even denying his greatest fear.

He gave a small smile.

"You're welcome, princess."  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Zora. Plssss let these two interact more in canon. Also, sorry if I've been hurtin' him too much. I'll hurt Nebra too in the future. *attempt at evil laugh*
> 
> Anyway, lemme know what you think! (This is the 1st time I said that whoop)


	7. Not An Update!!

So, regarding the readers who requested stories and updates on my ongoing ones... I am sorry.

My phone is actually really old, and when I opened the app where I wrote drafts, it was unknowingly rebooted/formatted. The drafts? Gone. I am feeling really down right now.

So, until I get over (mourning over my deleted hard work *cries) this problem, I think I'm having a little break. A slight hiatus? But ofc I'll still come back to writing! I love y'all too much to just leave you with cliffhangers. Hope ya understand! Much love <3

P.S. The fics aren't discontinued. :)

\- A presently hungry writer


End file.
